5~.  Z7 . 2.2. 


Mtqm^ti^vi  by  l|tm  to 

tlj0  Htbrarg  of 

J^nnirrton  Stj^ulngiral  S^rmtnarg 


THE 


t^ei 


REVELATION  OF  ST.  JOHN 
THE  DIVINE 

AN   INTERPRETATION 


/ 


BY 


A.  H.  AA^ES,  M.D.,  D.D. 


NEW  YORK ;  EATON  4  MAINS 
CINCINNATI  :    CURT5    &  JENNINGS 


Copyright  by 

EATON  &  MAINS, 

1897. 


Eaton  &  Mains  Press, 
150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


Ip^reface 


The  essay  which  follows  is  based  upon  a 
conviction  that  the  closing  book  of  the 
canon  of  the  New  Testament,  known  as 
the  Revelation  of  Saint  John,  presents  the 
thoughts  of  that  holy  man  and  inspired 
apostle  upon  the  subject  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  as  derived  by  him  from  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  and  from  the  teach- 
ings of  Christ  or  as  drawn  from  direct  reve- 
lations made  to  himself.  The  book  presents 
a  single  theme  and  has  a  well-preserved 
unity. 

With  those  theories  of  interpretation 
which  would  make  of  the  book  an  epitome 
of  history,  either  as  confined  to  particular 
epochs  or  as  a  whole,  and  which  presuppose 
its  design  to  be  the  prediction  of  events, 
great  or  small,  in  the  progress  of  the  world 
or  the  Church,  the  writer  of  this  essay  is 
not  in  sympathy.  It  is  mainly  because  of 
the  vagaries  and  conceits  to  which  these 
theories  have  opened  the  way,  which  have 
clouded  rather  than  cleared  the  mysteries 


Preface 

of  the  Apocalypse  and  been  more  promotive 
of  strife  than  of  salvation,  that  so  many 
thoughtful  and  pious  minds  have  been 
driven  from  the  study  of  what  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful,  as  it  is  one  of  the  most  prac- 
tical, parts  of  the  word  of  God.  How  readily 
the  coincidences,  for  such  they  are,  which 
have  been  appealed  to  as  verifications  of 
these  theories  may  be  explained  and  ac- 
counted for  will  be  shown  in  the  course  of 
the  essay. 

Questions  of  criticism  or  scholarship  do 
not  lie  within  the  scope  of  the  essay.  It  is 
assumed,  not,  however,  without  examina- 
tion and  reflection,  that  the  Revelation  is 
the  work  of  John,  the  son  of  Zebedee,  one 
of  the  twelve,  and  ''  the  disciple  whom  Je- 
sus loved."  It  is  also  assumed  that  he  was 
the  author  of  the  fourth  gospel  and  of  the 
epistles  which  bear  his  name. 

Commentaries  upon  the  Revelation  have 
been  so  numerous  that  their  titles  would 
fill  a  volume.  It  is  not  likely  that  anything 
can  be  said  concerning  it  which  is  entirely 
new  and  has  not  been  somewhere  set  forth. 
The  writer  of  this  essay  claims  originality 
so  far  as  that  he  has  not  seen  the  views 
here    expressed    elsewhere    presented,    al- 

4 


Preface 

tlioug-h  they  may  have  appeared  previously 
It  is  not  possible  for  him  to  say  whence  he 
has  gathered  the  material  which  has  grown 
into  the  essay,  so  as  to  make  formal  ac- 
knowledgment. Alford,  Bengel,  Heng- 
stenberg,  Wordsworth,  The  Speaker  s  Com- 
mentary,  EUicott's  Commentary,  The  Exposi- 
tor s  Bible  have  been  consulted  freely,  and 
also  The  Symbolic  Parables  of  the  Apocalypse, 
published  by  T.  and  T.  Clark.  The  best 
commentary  upon  the  Revelation  he  has 
found  to  be  the  Scriptures  themselves. 
Washington,  D.  C. 


Contents 


INTRODUCTION 

Rules  of  Interpretation — The  Structure  of  the  Book — 
Reference  to  Old  Testament — Emblems  Interpreted  by 
Light  of  Jewish  Scriptures  and  Ritual — Particular  Atten- 
tion to  Numbers Pages  1-26 

PART  I 
The  Seven  Churches  of  Asia,  or  the  Kingdom  as  it  Actually 
was  in  the  Days  of  the  Apostles  and  is  Now 29-35 

PART  II 
Fundamental  Principles  on  Which  the  Kingdom  is  Based- 
Emblem  of  the  Seals — Opening  of  the  Seals — The  Sealed 
Elect 39-52 

PART  III 
The  Means  by  which  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  is  Advanced — 
Natural    Providences — The    Two  Witnesses,  or  the  Su- 
pernatural Scriptures 55-97 

PART   IV 
The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom — The  Dragon — Fii-st  Wild  Beast, 
or  Spirit  of  Worldliness— Second  Wild  Beast,  or  Spirit 
of  False  Prophetism — Anticipations  of  Victory . .    101-166 

PART   V 
The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom,  or  the  False  Church— The 
Judgments  of  God— Vision   of  the  Vials— Babylon  and 

its  Doom— Methods  of  Success  Reiterated 160-202 

1 


Contents 

PART  VI 

Progressive  Steps  by  Which  the  Ideal  Kingdom  is  to  be 
Realized — Restraints  upon  the  Power  of  Satan — Outpour- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit  under  the  Emblem  of  Resurrection 
— Union  of  Christian  Believers — Final  Triumph  over  Bar- 
barism under  the  Emblem  of  Gog  and  Magog. . .   205-258 

PART  VII 
The   Ideal  of  the  Kingdom — Its  Distinctive  Features — The 
Central  Principle  of  the  Kingdom — Negative  Character- 
istics— Fruits  and  Results 261-276 

8 


Ifntiobuction 


Rales  of  Interpretation 

If  the  Revelation  of  Saint  John  has  any 
right  to  a  place  in  the  canon  of  the  New 
Testament,  it  is  reasonable  to  presume  that 
its  intention  was  to  conform  to  that  general 
purpose  for  which  all  divinely  inspired 
Scripture  is  said  to  be  given,  namely,  to 
**  be  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for 
correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness : 
that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thor- 
oughly furnished  unto  all  good  works." 

What  peculiarly  distinguishes  it  is  that 
it  clothes  spiritual  truth  with  a  garb  of  mys- 
tery which,  by  challenging  investigation, 
stimulates  inquiry;  which  affords  to  the 
mind  that  solves  its  obscurities  the  satisfac- 
tion always  to  be  found  in  the  discovery  of 
the  recondite  and  difficult;  which  throws 
around  prose  realities  the  pleasing  charm  of 
poetry  and  art;  and  which,  by  connecting 
material  things  with  a  divine  revelation, 
and  thus  linking  together  nature  and  the 
supernatural,  attests  the  unity  of  the  uni- 


Introduction 

verse  in  whicli  we  are  placed  and  shows 
the  world  about  us  and  human  history  to  be 
full  of  the  presence  of  God. 

It  would  surely  argue  great  presumption 
in  any  man  to  claim  a  perfect  understand- 
ing of  a  book  so  marvelous  as  the  Apoca- 
lypse, whose  teachings  are  not  for  one  age, 
but  for  all  ages.  Very  confidently,  how- 
ever, it  may  be  asserted  that  by  the  use  of 
certain  rules  of  interpretation  many  of  its 
mysteries  may  be  explained  and  its  applica- 
tion to  practical  life  and  conduct  be  made 
evident.  The  reasonableness  of  these  rules 
would  be  readily  admitted  if  applied  to  any 
other  part  of  holy  writ ;  and  hesitation  to 
accept  them  here  proceeds  solely  from  that 
mistaken  view  of  the  design  of  the  Reve- 
lation which  isolates  it  from  the  rest  of 
the  sacred  canon  as  something  anoniaioms 
and  unique.  So  far  is  this  from  being 
the  case  that  no  book  in  the  Bible  can 
afford  to  stand  by  itself  so  little  as  the 
Apocalypse,  inasmuch  as  there  is  no  other 
into  the  fabric  of  which  so  much  of  the 
other  Scriptures  is  intentionally  woven. 
The  impression  which  close  study  of  it 
makes  is  that  it  was  designed  by  its  author 
to  serve  as  a  sacred  clasp  to  bind  together 

10 


Introduction 

and  hold  in  harmonious  coherence  the  whole 
of  God's  wonderful  volume. 

The  principles  of  interpretation  deserving 
special  notice  are  four  in  number. 

I .  TJie  structiirc  of  the  book  itself  furnisJies 
some  guide  to  its  interpretation. 

The  opening  chapters  comprise  brief  let- 
ters, seven  in  all,  which  the  author  is  di- 
rected to  write  to  seven  churches  of  Asia, 
the  number  indicating,  not  that  these  com- 
prehended all  the  churches  in  that  region, 
but  that  in  them  were  represented  all  phases 
of  religious  life.  These  letters  set  before 
us  both  the  spiritual  state  and  the  environ- 
ment of  the  churches,  and  are  advisory, 
monitory,  reproachful,  or  comforting  as  the 
cases  demanded. 

The  closing,  chapters  present  us  with  a 
picture  of  the  perfected  Christian  Church — 
a  symbolical  vision,  incomparable  in  its  ex- 
quisite beauty,  of  the  complete  and  perma- 
nent triumph  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  in 
the  individual  heart  and  on  the  larger  field 
of  the  world,  over  all  opposing  forces ;  the 
realization,  in  fact,  on  earth  of  the  ideal 
kingdom  of  God  made  ready  for  the  Lamb. 

The  most  plausible  suggestion,  therefore, 

which  presents  itself  is  that  the  intermediate 
11 


Introduction 

portion  of  the  book  is  intended  to  pre- 
sent in  its  figures  and  symbols  the  means 
by  which  the  last  condition  is  to  be  reached 
from  the  earlier  one,  the  unformed  and 
fluctuating  state  of  the  beginning  developed 
into  the  ripeness  and  perfection  of  the  close, 
and  that  under  the  guise  of  metaphor, 
trope,  and  vision  there  are  revealed  to  us 
the  dangers  which  the  Church  of  Christ 
must  expect,  the  enemies  it  must  subdue, 
the  weapons  by  which  victory  must  be 
achieved,  the  encouragements  upon  which 
it  may  rely,  and,  in  short,  the  steps  through 
which  the  immature  and  carnal  must  be  led 
in  order  to  reach  up  to  the  pure  and  perfect. 
Nor  is  it  with  the  Church  at  large  that 
the  warnings  and  counsels  have  alone  to  do. 
If  * '  whatsoever  things  were  written  afore- 
time were  written  for  our  learning,"  each 
individual  disciple  of  Christ  may  find  in  this 
book  a  chart  for  his  own  life's  journey  and 
have  sufficient  warning  against  the  sunken 
rocks,  the  adverse  tides,  the  dangerous 
headlands  which  are  to  be  shunned,  and 
which  are  here  so  clearly  and  plainly  marked 
out  for  him  that  he  may,  in  the  close  and 
careful  study  of  the  map,  find  equal  profit 
and  pleasure. 

12 


Introduction 

It  is  very  important  in  this  connection  to 
note  the  statement  of  the  writer  in  the  first 
verse  of  the  book,  that  his  commission  was 
^'  to  show  unto "  the  servants  of  God 
"  things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass." 
It  is  only  by  a  very  forced  construction  of 
the  words  that  they  can  be  made  to  signify 
a  prophecy  whose  fulfillment  is  to  be  delayed 
for  long  centuries  indefinite  in  their  number. 
The  most  natural  construction  surely  is  that 
the  revelation  intrusted  to  him  is  one  of 
which  the  whole,  and  not  a  part  only,  is  to 
find  its  application  in  the  times  in  which  he 
lived,  or  soon  thereafter,  and  to  continue 
applicable  until  the  glorious  result  is  at- 
tained of  which  the  closing  part  speaks. 
And  if  we  shall  dismiss  from  our  minds  all 
prepossessions  springing  out  from  that  view 
of  the  book  which  makes  it  a  syllabus,  or 
table  of  contents,  of  Christian  history  the 
force  of  this  remark  will  more  clearly  ap- 
pear. 

2.  Reference  must  constantly  be  made  to  the 
Old  Testament. 

This  rule,  which  is  of  importance  in  order 
to  understand  any  part  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, becomes  of  the  highest  necessity  in 
any  attempt  to  interpret   the   Revelation. 

13 


Introduction 

The  writer  was  evidently  a  diligent  student 
of  the  older  Scriptures,  absorbing  their 
images  and  emblems  until  they  had  become 
a  part  of  himself.  Much  in  his  writings 
that  at  first  seems  obscure  becomes  plain 
when  we  put  ourselves  in  his  position  and 
study  the  Scriptures,  which  were  evidently 
in  his  thoughts. 

The  prophetical  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment especially  are  to  be  studied.  Between 
the  relation  in  w^hich  the  older  prophets 
stood  to  the  laws  and  institutions  of  Moses 
and  that  which  the  apostles  of  the  New 
Testament  dispensation  sustained  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  a  strong  similarity  ex- 
ists. Neither  the  one  nor  the  other  claimed 
to  be  originators  or  independent  discoverers, 
but  rather  witnesses  to  truths  already  re- 
vealed, which  they  accepted  as  primary  and 
fundamental  facts.  Into  the  clear  under- 
standing, indeed,  of  these  they  were  ena- 
bled by  divine  inspiration  to  look  more 
deeply  than  others  could,  and  they  were 
also  supernaturally  aided  to  draw  them  out 
into  great  principles,  capable  of  application 
to  human  thought  and  conduct  in  the  shap- 
ing of  individual  and  national  life  and  prac- 
tice. Thus,  naturally  and  by  sympathy  of 
u 


Introduction 

condition,  the  later  writers  found  themselves 
led  into  careful  and  profound  study  of  their 
predecessors.  The  prophecies  of  Daniel 
and  Zechariah  deserve  to  be  especially  con- 
sulted. Written,  as  they  were,  at  or  near 
the  time  of  the  captivity  of  Judah,  they  had 
peculiar  interest  for  one  who  was  himself  an 
exile  for  the  truth.  Some  of  the  imagery  of 
the  Revelation  is  drawn  from  the  glowing 
poetry  of  Isaiah.  And  almost  the  entire 
Book  of  Joel  has  been  worked  into  the 
Apocalypse. 

But  of  all  helps  to  an  understanding  of 
the  Revelation  the  most  fruitful  is  a  close 
and  careful  comparison  with  the  Book  of 
Ezekiel ;  especially  is  this  the  case  in  refer- 
ence to  the  closing  chapters  of  both.  Be- 
tween the  authors  of  these  two  works  there 
were  striking  similarities  of  character  and 
condition.  But  a  more  powerful  bond  of 
union  is  found  in  the  fact  that  both  of  them 
were  preeminently  prophets  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  seeming  to  have  reached  truer  and 
profounder  views  of  his  work  in  the  econ- 
omy of  redemption  than  any  predecessors 
in  their  separate  dispensations.  Isaiah  and 
Paul  wrote  of  Christ  and  his  Church ;  but 
if  we  wish  to  learn  the  fullest  development 

15 


Introduction 

of  the  office  of  the  Holy  Ghost  we  must 
turn  to  the  pages  of  Ezekiel  and  John. 

In  addition  to  the  Old  Testament  refer- 
ences, the  prophetical  discourses  of  our 
Lord  uttered  near  the  close  of  his  ministry 
and  recorded  in  the  synoptical  gospels  will 
throw  much  light  on  the  Book  of  Revela- 
tion. The  omission  of  these  from  the  gos- 
pel of  John  may  be  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  in  the  Revelation  the  apostle  had 
made  such  large  use  of  them.  The  impor- 
tant prediction  of  Paul  concerning  the  man 
of  sin,  found  in  2  Thess.  ii,  must  also  be 
compared  with  those  of  John. 

3 .  The  emblems  and  symbols  of  the  Revelation 
must  be  interpreted  by  the  light  of  the  feivish 
Scriptures  and  ritual. 

This,  indeed,  follows  as  a  corollary  form 
the  preceding  rule,  but  is  of  so  much  im- 
portance as  to  deserve  special  mention. 
Sometimes  a  word  or  a  figure  of  speech  or 
the  connections  of  a  sentence  or  a  passing 
allusion  to  some  sacrificial  service  will  afford 
a  clew  to  what  at  the  time  was  in  the  mind 
of  the  writer.  Inasmuch  as  he  was  a  Jew, 
"taught  according  to  the  perfect  manner 
of  the  law  of  the  fathers,"  familiar  with  the 
vScripturcs,   traditions,   usages,  and  history 

16 


Introduction 

of  his  religion,  his  interpretation  of  sym- 
bols and  emblems  would  naturally  be  such 
as  would  occur  to  the  mind  of  a  Jew.  We 
must  place  ourselves  as  near  as  possible  to  his 
standpoint.  Yet,  as  he  was  also  an  inspired 
apostle  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  must  be 
prepared  to  concede  that  he  read  deeper  into 
these  mysteries  than  his  fellows  did  and  was 
able  to  import  into  them  a  richer  meaning. 

4.  Particular  attention  must  be  given  to 
the  numbers  found  in  the  book. 

Much  that  is  fanciful  and  extravagant 
has,  it  must  be  conceded,  been  written  on 
this  subject,  and  to  many  persons  any  dis- 
cussion of  it  is  distasteful.  Yet  it  is  certain, 
as  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon  says,  that  God 
has  * '  ordered  all  things  in  measure  and 
number  and  weight."  Otherwise  there 
could  be  no  such  thing  as  exact  science. 
Truths  lie  veiled  in  figures,  for  these  repre- 
sent fixed  principles  and  plans  in  the  divine 
mind.  As  a  general  truth,  it  may  be  stated 
that  the  ideas  expressed  by  numbers,  not 
only  in  this  book,  but  throughout  the  Bible, 
whenever  these  are  used  symbolically,  are 
those  of  fullness,  exactness,  and  perfection, 
on  one  hand,  or  deficiency,  incompleteness, 

and  imperfection,  on  the  other, 
n 


Introduction 

The  numbers  which  figure  most  largely 
in  symbolism  are  seven,  twelve,  six,  and 
three  and  a  half. 

Seven  is  called  the  sacred  number,  and 
seems  to  express  the  idea  of  perfection  or 
fullness  to  the  highest  degree  and  in  the 
most  unlimited  sense.  As  seven  days  make 
a  complete  week,  whole  and  entire,  without 
redundancy  or  deficiency,  so  that  to  which 
the  number  seven  is  attached  must  be  taken 
as  perfect,  fully  developed,  as  a  complete 
whole.  The  expressions  ''seven  spirits," 
''  seven  seals,"  "  seven  trumpets,"  etc.,  im- 
ply that  what  they  represent  must  be  taken 
as  entire,  with  no  possible  capacities  lying 
in  them  unexhausted. 

Twelve,  also,  signifies  completeness;  but 
its  use  and  application  are  more  restricted. 
It  is  usually  connected  with  the  Church  of 
God,  and  possibly  has  some  special  reference 
to  it.  Thus  there  are  twelve  patriarchs, 
twelve  apostles,  twelve  foundations  to  the 
holy  city.  As  the  number  is  formed  by  the 
multiplication  of  three,  representing  the 
Trinity,  and  four,  representing  the  world 
with  its  quarters,  it  conveys  the  thought  of 
imiversality  as  the  assured  destiny  of  the 
Church. 

18 


Introduction 

Six  is,  also,  as  a  symbol,  connected  with 
the  Church ;  but,  both  because  it  is  less 
than  seven,  and  only  the  half  of  twelve, 
has  a  sinister  significance.  It  represents 
the  malign  and  baleful  influences  which  cor- 
rupt and  disintegrate  the  Church,  shearing 
it  of  its  power,  limiting  and  obstructing  its 
mission,  and  leaving  it  incomplete,  defec- 
tive, and  corrupt. 

Three  and  a  half  is  a  number  having 
special  signification  and  requiring  particu- 
lar investigation.  A  correct  appreciation 
of  its  meaning  will  throw  light  upon  some 
of  the  most  obscure  portions  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse. 

It  occurs — and  is,  indeed,  the  only  num- 
ber of  which  this  may  be  said — in  various 
forms.  Since  three  and  a  half  years  com- 
prise forty-two  months,  and  since  forty-two 
months  of  thirty  days  each  (the  usual  pro- 
phetical computation)  equal  twelve  hundred 
and  sixty  days,  we  may  take  these  three 
forms,  three  and  a  half,  forty-two,  and  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty,  as  equivalent  expres- 
sions. So,  also,  the  expression,  **a  time, 
times,  and  the  dividing  of  times"  (1+2-f  J 
=  3i),  is  probably  but  another  form  of 
this  number.     That  some  law  governs  the 

19 


Introduction 

choice  of  these  various  forms  is  probable ; 
but  what,  it  is  does  not  appear. 

Since  three  and  a  half  falls  short  of  seven, 
it  designates  incompleteness.  But,  inas- 
much as  it  is  the  exact  half  of  seven  (in 
this  differing  from  six),  it  signifies  an  in- 
completeness which  has,  so  to  speak,  a  com- 
pleteness of  its  own — that  is,  an  incom- 
pleteness which  is  not  anomalous  and  ir- 
regular, such  as  would  be  expressed  by  six, 
but  one  which  is,  by  the  appointment  of 
God  or  as  a  result  of  its  own  nature,  in- 
tended to  be  such.  Any  period  of  time  or 
epoch  in  human  history  which  has  pre- 
scribed and  well-marked  limits  or  bound- 
aries, any  part  of  the  plan  of  Providence 
which  has  a  specified,  but  only  temporary 
and  partial  purpose  as  related  to  the  whole 
course  and  complete  plan  of  the  divine 
Being,  is  always  designated  by  one  or  the 
other  of  the  forms  of  this  number. 

Judaism,  for  instance,  answered  these 
conditions.  It  was  a  providentially  ordered 
dispensation,  but  with  a  specific  and  limited 
object ;  fulfilling  a  definite,  but  not  the  com- 
plete purpose  of  Providence ;  a  stage  in  the 
movement  of  humanity  toward  the  kingdom 
of  God,  but  not  itself  the  realization  of  that 

20 


Introduction 

kingdom ;   a  type  which  needed  an  antit5^pe 
to  rotmd  it  out,  and  through otit  which   ran 
the  marks  that  proved  it  to  be  onl}^  tem- 
porary and  preparatory  to  a  higher  dispen- 
sation into  which  it  was  to  blossom.     It  was 
''  a  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  unto  Christ." 
Its  glory  was  something  which  was  '  *  to  be 
done    away,"   and  consequently  falls  short 
of  *'  that  which  remaineth."    And  it  reached 
the  ''  fullness  "    of  its  ''time  "  when  "  God 
sent  forth  his  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made 
under  the  law,  to   redeem  them  that   were 
under  the  law,  that  we  might  receive  the 
adoption  of  sons."     And  it  will  be  found 
that  whenever  Judaism  is  symbolized  by  a 
number  in  the  Book  of  Revelation,  it  is  des- 
ignated by  one  of  the  allotropic  forms   of 
three  and  a  half.'- 

So,  likewise,  Gentilism,  to  which  a  defi- 
nite and  distinct  character  or  purpose  is  at- 
tributed, both  by  our  Lord  (Luke  xxi,  24) 
and  by  Saint  Paul  (Rom  xi,  25),  but  which, 
when  severed  from  its  Jewish  antecedents, 
*  has  the  like  features  of  incompleteness  and 
deficiency,  would  be  symbolically  expressed 
by  some  form  of  the  same  number. f 

So  generally  accepted  seems  to  have  been 

*See  Rev.  xi,  3;  xii,  6,  14.         f  See  Rev.  xiii,  5. 
21 


Introduction 

this  symbolical  use  of  numbers  that  it  ap- 
pears even  in  such  pure  and  simple  prose  as 
the  g'ospels.  The  evangelist  Matthew,  in 
recording  the  genealogy  of  our  Lord,  divides 
the  period  between  Abraham  and  Christ 
into  three  cycles  with  fourteen  generations 
in  each,  or  forty-two  in  all.  This  period  is 
exactly  coeval  with  Judaism  as  a  distinct 
dispensation ;  and  forty-two  is,  as  we  have 
seen,  one  of  the  interchangeable  forms  of 
the  number  three  and  a  half.  Inasmuch 
as  the  actual  number  of  generations  was, 
as  is  generally  agreed,  more  than  forty-two, 
and  some  principle  of  accommodation  must 
have  controlled  the  evanofelist  in  choosinof 
it,  we  have  a  right  to  conjecture  that  the 
symbolism  was  so  well  established  that 
no  erroneous  impression  would  be  con- 
veyed. 

Using  these  rules  of  interpretation  as  a 
guide,  it  will  be  found  that  many,  if  not 
most  of  the  obscurities  which  have  made 
this  book  so  perplexing  and  incomprehen- 
sible will  be  removed.  A  unity  of  purpose 
will  be  seen  pervading  it.  It  will  no  longer 
appear  anomalous  and  otitre,  but  harmoni- 
ous with  the  rest  of  the  oracles  of  God ;  a 
book  for  the  perusal  of  every  individual  be- 


Introduction 

liever,  no  matter  liow  simple  and  unlearned 
he  may  be ;  having-  direct  reference  to  his 
heart-experience  and  his  moral  conduct ;  a 
vade  inecuin  for  the  journey  of  life  through 
whose  aid  he  may  safely  encounter  the  dan- 
gers and  surely  overcome  the  hindrances 
he  may  meet. 

The  great  theme  which  the  inspired 
writer  and  apostle  here  sets  before  us  is  the 
mediatorial  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  The  principles  which  lie  at  the 
basis  of  that  kingdom — the  oppositions,  ex- 
ternal and  internal,  to  its  beginning  and 
completion,  the  agencies,  divine  and  human, 
upon  which  reliance  must  be  placed  to 
achieve  success,  its  superiority  to  and  tri- 
umph over  all  hostile  forces,  and  all  these 
both  in  the  heart  of  each  individual  Chris- 
tian and  in  that  aggregation  of  Christians 
which  we  call  the  Church — are  here  deline- 
ated as  they  were  revealed  to  Saint  John. 

The  theories  which  make  of  this  book  an 
anticipation  of  history,  and  which  find  in 
the  events  of  the  last  nineteen  centuries 
continued  fulfillments  of  its  predictions,  or 
which  confine  those  fulfillments  to  the 
periods  either  near  the  primitive  age  or 
near  the    future   and    final   scenes   of   the 

23 


Introduction 

drama  of  time  are  regarded  as  being  not 
wholly  erroneous,  but  incomplete  and 
partial. 

That  the  great  purposes  of  divine  Provi- 
dence are  continually  finding  their  fulfill- 
ment in  the  history  of  men  and  nations  is 
a  truth  not  confined  to  this  book,  but  spread 
throughout  all  the  sacred  Scriptures.  The 
laws  of  the  divine  administration  are  very 
exact ;  they  can  be  neither  obeyed  nor  dis- 
regarded without  the  necessary  accompani- 
ments of  legitimate  and  appointed  conse- 
quences. There  is  no  improbability  at  all 
that  moral  and  spiritual  truths  may  have 
their  processes  and  cycles  of  development, 
just  as  natural  things  have  their  seasons 
and  times  of  maturity.  Whether  the  events 
that  have  occurred,  the  organized  bodies,  sec- 
ular or  religious,  that  have  appeared  on  the 
field  of  the  world,  were  in  the  mind  of  the 
apostle  as  he  wrote  is  a  question  neither 
afiirmed  nor  denied.  What  is  meant  to  be 
said  is  that  the  Revelation  does  more  than 
merely  predict  results.  It  goes  down  into 
the  profound  region  of  causes  and  reveals 
the  continuity  of  the  plans  of  the  divine 
Being.  However  ingenious  or  plausible, 
therefore,    the  explanations   put   upon  the 

24 


Introduction 

prophecies  of  this  book  by  the  theories 
spoken  of  above,  it  is  not  confined  to  them. 
As  long  as  the  world  lasts  there  will  be,  in 
every  age  and  in  the  experience  of  every 
believer,  a  fulfillment  of  the  truths  here 
set  forth.  Its  warnings  and  comforts  will 
never  be  out  of  date.  Its  promises  and  its 
threats  are  alike  imperishable,  for  they  are 
a  part  of  that  "word  of  our  God"  which 
''shall  stand  forever." 

A  definition  of  the  phrase  "kingdom  of 
Christ "  is  nowhere  attempted  in  the  Rev- 
elation. It  was  not  needed  in  an  age  when 
the  theme  was  the  staple  of  preaching  and 
teaching.  To  show  that  it  must  not  be 
confounded  with  the  visible  Church  was  the 
ptirpose  of  the  epistles  to  the  churches  of 
Asia  with  which  the  Apocalypse  begins. 
The  fundamental  principle  upon  which  the 
kingdom  is  founded,  the  universal  sov- 
ereignty of  Christ  based  upon  his  redemp- 
tive work,  is  taught  under  the  emblem  of  the 
seals.  The  writer  then  advances  to  the  in- 
strumentalities, natural  and  supernatural, 
by  means  of  which  the  kingdom  is  to  be 
brought  to  its  consummation.  The  antag- 
onisms which  the  kingdom  must  encounter 
from   foes   without    and   within    are   next 


Introduction 

plainly  revealed,  and,  lest  the  revelation 
may  cause  discouragement,  prophecies  of 
sure  and  final  victory  mingle  with  warn- 
ings. The  retributive  resources  of  the 
kingdom,  the  just  judgments  which  fall 
upon  its  foes,  and  especially  upon  the  false 
and  counterfeit  Church,  are  taught  under 
the  emblem  of  the  vials.  The  next  section 
discloses  to  us  the  stages  of  progress  through 
which  the  kingdom  ascends  to  its  complete 
establishment,  and  the  signs  by  which  we 
may  test  its  advance  or  detect  its  decline. 
And  finally,  with  that  glowing  picture  of 
the  ideal  kingdom  as  it  shall  be  realized  on 
earth  when  the  Galilean  shall  have  con- 
quered, a  picture  so  beautiful  that  our  high- 
est conceptions  of  heaven  seem  embodied 
in  it,  the  divine  seer  closes  his  rapturous 
vision. 

26 


PART  I 
Ubc  Seven  Cburcbes  of  Hsfa 


IRevelation  of  Saint  5obn 
tbe  Bipine 


PART  I 


The  Seven  Churclies  of  Asia,  or,  the  Kingdom 
as  it  Actually  was  in  the  Days  of  the  Apostles 
and  is  now 

The  chapters  whicli  contain  the  epistles  to 
the  churches  of  Asia  need  not  detain  us  long ; 
not  that  they  are  devoid  of  interest,  but  be- 
cause anything  like  a  commentary  upon  the 
text  lies  outside  the  scope  and  design  of  this 
essay,  whose  purpose  is  to  interpret  the 
general  intent  of  the  book  itself. 

The  value  of  these  letters  to  us  lies  in  the 
pictures  presented  in  them  of  the  religious 
state  of  the  churches  to  which  they  were  ad- 
dressed, and  which  doubtless  were  repre- 
sentative of  the  Christian  world  in  the  days 
of  the  writer.  The  reading  of  them  will 
dispel  any  illusion  in  which  we  may  have 
indulged  as  to  the  superiority  of  the  apos- 
tolical age  over  subsequent  ones,  and  will 
shatter  any  hypothesis  we  may  have  formed 

29 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

that  primitive  Christianity  was  anything  like 
Utopia.  The  condition  of  the  churches 
which  they  reveal  to  us  was  one  in  which 
doubt  and  faith,  loyalty  and  declension, 
purity  and  worldliness,  evil  and  good  were 
interspersed  in  varying  proportions.  The 
tares  had  already  begun  to  grow  with  the 
wheat. 

And  a  moment's  reflection  will  convince  us 
tliat  no  other  result  could  reasonably  be  ex- 
pected. Divine  grace  does  not  obliterate 
human  nature,  and  its  operations  are  always 
in  accordance  with  rule.  The  regeneration 
of  a  soul  is  not  synonymous  with  its  entire 
sanctification.  Growth  is  an  invariable  ac- 
companiment of  life.  It  would  have  been 
a  new  and  altogether  anomalous  state  of 
things  if  the  average  of  conduct  attained  by 
converts  from  Jewish  and  pagan  standards 
of  thought  and  morals  had  equaled  that  to 
which  we  may  aspire  in  whom  centuries  of 
training  in  the  family,  the  State,  and  the 
Church  have  created  a  Christian  conscious- 
ness. Fervor  and  zeal  the  early  disciples 
unquestionably  had,  but  with  sad  mixture 
of  inconsistency,  inexperience,  and  weak- 
ness. 

It  has  always  seemed  hard  for  Christians 

30 


The  Seven  Churches  of  Asia 

to  comprehend  and  fully  believe  the  prom- 
ise which  our  Lord  gave  to  the  Church 
through  the  apostles,  that  the  Holy  Ghost, 
when  he  should  come,  should  '*  abide  "  with 
it  *'  forever."  And  this  abiding  presence 
throughout  all  ages  of  the  Spirit  of  truth  is 
not  to  be  in  partial  or  transient  manifesta- 
tion, but  in  all  the  fullness  of  his  divine 
offices.  And  attention  must  be  called  to  the 
fact  that  John,  in  unfolding  the  processes 
and  forces  by  which  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
is  to  be  brought  to  its  triumphant  complete- 
ness, points  us  at  the  beginning  of  his 
prophecy  (Rev.  iv,  5)  to  the  seven  spirits  of 
God  "  burning  before  the  throne,"  as  if  to 
impress  upon  us  the  perfection  of  degree  in 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  gives  himself  to  this 
work.  This  does  not  mean  that  there  is 
monotonous  identity  in  the  modes  of  his 
manifestation,  or  that  the  work  that  he  does 
is  the  same  in  kind  with  that  which  he  has 
done  in  the  past.  We  are  expressly  told 
that  ' '  there  are  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the 
same  spirit.  And  there  are  diversities  of 
administrations,  but  the  same  Lord.  And 
there  are  diversities  of  operations,  but  it 
is  the  same  God  that  worketh  all  in  all." 

Some  things  which  God  does  he  never  re- 
al 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

peats.  His  special  presence  or  work  at 
some  periods  and  in  some  things  does  not 
imply  that  lie  is  any  the  less,  while  not  in 
the  same  special  way,  present  at  all  times 
and  in  all  things. 

"In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven 
and  the  earth."  That  was  done  once  for 
all.  From  that  period  up  to  this  time,  in- 
deed, tlie  ''  Father  worketh ;  "  but  it  is  not 
as  Creator,  but  as  Providence,  developing 
and  evolving  from  that  beginning  the  possi- 
bilities that  lay  in  it.  What  we  call  science 
is  the  record  of  this  development,  aiming 
only  at  the  accurate  presentation  of  the  facts 
of  providence  and  the  adaptation  of  them  to 
human  needs  and  destiny.  Nature  is  the 
terminus  ad  queni  toward  which  discovery 
and  invention  tend,  not  the  terminus  a  quo 
from  which  they  start.  Progress  in  them 
does  not  mean  adding  anything  to  nature 
or  superseding  it  or  leaving  it  behind  and 
moving  to  something  be3^ond  it,  but  merely 
approaching  closer  to  it,  bringing  us  to  bet- 
ter knowledge  of  and  fuller  acquaintance 
with  it. 

So,  likewise,  that  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  by  which  holy  men  of  God  were 
moved  to  speak  and  write  what  was  specially 

o2 


The  Seven  Churches  of  Asia 

revealed  to  them  is  never  to  be  repeated. 
The  lines  along  which  and  the  limits  within 
which  the  Christian  Church  is  to  be  led  were 
laid  down  once  for  all,  as  those  of  nature 
also  were.  The  work  of  the  Spirit  now  is 
that  of  a  Providence  to  bring  to  realization 
the  ideal  then  foreshadowed ;  and  in  doing 
this  he  has  divine  freedom  to  breathe  where 
and  when  he  listeth.  Pentecost  was  the 
commencement  of  a  process  of  which  the 
closing  chapters  of  the  Revelation  disclose 
the  completion.  And  in  order  to  attain  this 
end  the  perpetual  presence  and  indwelling 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  promised  in  all  their 
richness  and  perfection,  but  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  human  nature  and  with 
constant  increments  of  knowledge  and 
power. 

It  is  vain,  therefore,  to  claim  command- 
ing authority  for  any  ceremony,  formula, 
or  organization  on  the  ground  that  it  cor- 
responds with  primitive  Christianity.  The 
apostles  never  felt  themselves  bound  to  that 
first  sketch  of  the  Church  which  they  drew 
at  Pentecost,  as  if  this  -were  among  the 
things  supernaturally  revealed;  but  they 
lAodified  and  revised  it  whenever  they 
could  say,    ''  It  seemed  good  to  the  Holy 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Ghost  and  to  us."  Nor  have  we  any  reason 
to  believe  that  the  process  of  evolution 
which  continued  throughout  their  lives 
ended  therewith.  The  Holy  Spirit  did  not 
then  cease  his  work  of  guidance  and  in- 
spiration. That  is  the  truest  and  most 
apostolical  Christianity  which,  like  John, 
being  "in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day," 
holds  itself  ever  ready  to  hear  and  obey  the 
*'  great  voice,  as  of  a  trumpet,"  behind  and 
above  it. 

And  this  is  the  lesson  we  are  to  learn 
from  the  seven  epistles  to  the  churches  of 
Asia.  They  are  the  record  of  the  begin- 
ning of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  repeated  in 
the  conversion  and  regeneration  of  every 
individual  Christian.  They  show  the  point 
of  departure  from  which  progress  is  to  be 
made  toward  the  consummation  and  per- 
fection of  the  ideal.  The  Christian  world 
as  it  was  then,  with  its  graces  and  its 
faults,  is  disclosed  to  us.  The  apostle,  with 
his  clearer  eye,  was  able  to  look  below  the 
facts  and  recognize  the  principles  struggling 
for  the  ascendency ;  and,  using  these  facts 
as  his  data,  he  drew  from  them  a  prophecy 
of  the  development  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  of  marvelous  interest  and  instruction 

34 


The  Seven  Churches  of  Asia 

for  all  subsequent  ages.  Nor  is  there  a 
single  force,  friendly  or  hostile  to  the  king- 
dom, which  does  not  appear  in  the  warn- 
ings or  encouragements  he  is  directed  to 
write  to  these  infant  churches.  Whoever 
will  take  the  sketch  of  the  kingdom  as  it 
actually  appeared  to  the  eye  of  John,  and 
contrast  it  with  the  culmination  of  the 
process  so  exquisitely  pictured  in  the  last 
two  chapters  of  the  Apocalypse,  will  have 
some  conception  of  the  field  over  which  he 
must  travel  if  he  would  ''come  in  the  unity 
of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the 
measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of 
Christ." 

36 


PART  n 

IfunDamental  prlnctples  on  wbtcb  tbe 
Iktng^om  is  JSaset) 


Fundamental  Principles 


PART  II 

Fundamental  Principles  on  which  the  Kingfdom 
is  Based*    Emblem  of  the  Seals 

With  the  fourth  chapter  the  symbolical 
part  of  the  Revelation  begins,  and  continues 
to  the  end  of  the  book.  In  that  portion  of 
it  upon  which  we  now  enter,  and  which  in- 
cludes chapters  iv-viii,  i,  the  emblem  of  a 
seal  is  employed  so  frequently  as  to  make 
it  the  distinctive  feature.  We  are  told  of  a 
book  "sealed  with  seven  seals"  which  none 
but  the  Lamb  is  worthy  to  open.  Then  we 
are  told  of  the  opening  of  these  seals,  with 
visions  accompanying  the  successive  loosing 
of  them.  And,  lastly,  a  specific  number  of 
persons  sealed  in  their  foreheads  are  shown 
us,  following  which  an  innumerable  com- 
pany is  seen  gathered  before  the  throne  of 
God.  It  behooves  us  to  ascertain  the  typical 
meaning  of  a  seal ;  and  if  we  succeed  in  so 
doing  the  purpose  of  the  writer  will  be  dis- 
closed. 

I.  T/ie  Emblem  of  the  Seals. — The  seal  has 
been  usually  taken  as  signifying  conceal- 
ment or  secrecy ;  sealed  things  have  been 
regarded  as  synonymous  with  hidden  things. 

39 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

And  very  much  conjecture  has  been  offered 
as  to  what  were  the  hidden  mysteries  con- 
tained in  the  sealed  book  or  scroll.  But, 
whatever  secondary  meaning-  the  seal  may 
have,  concealment  is  not  its  principal  one. 
A  seal  denotes,  primarily  and  specifically, 
ownership,  not  secrecy.  The  sealing  of 
anything  implies  that  it  is,  or  is  claimed  to 
be,  tlie  property  of  liim  who  affixes  the  seal. 
The  outward  stamp  is  the  declaration  that 
the  owner  makes  of  his  rights  and  is  the 
official  token  of  his  authority.  It  is  the 
mark  of  lordship  or  seigniority.  Any  con- 
cealment of  contents  therein  involved  is  a 
secondary  consideration. 

Some  illustrations  from  Scripture  will 
substantiate  this  interpretation. 

When  it  is  said  (Rom.  iv,  1 1)  that  Abra- 
ham received  ''  the  sign  of  circumcision,  a 
seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the  faith  which 
he  had,"  it  is  meant  that  he  then  became  in 
a  special  sense  the  personal  property  of  Al- 
mighty God  and  entitled  to  all  the  protec- 
tion of  Omnipotence. 

* '  He  that  hath  received  his  testimony 
hath  set  to  his  seal  ['  hath  set  his  seal  to 
this,'  Revised  Version]  that  God  is  true" 
(John  iii,  33),  means  that  the  assured  con- 

40 


Fundamental  Principles 

viction  of  God's  reality  and  faithfulness  has 
become  the  personal  possession  of  the  be- 
liever, something  which  belongs  to  him  of 
right. 

"Him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed" 
(John  vi,  27)  means  that  God  officially  rati- 
fies and  acknowledges  as  his  own  what 
Christ  does,  and  attests  it  with  the  stamp  of 
authority. 

When  Pilate  sealed  the  sepulcher  where 
Christ  was  laid  (Matt,  xxvii,  66)  it  was 
meant  that  the  tomb  became  the  property 
of  the  Roman  empire  and  was  under  the 
guardianship  of  its  officials,  and  that  who- 
ever tampered  with  it  must  be  prepared  to 
try  questions  with  Caesar. 

''Ye  were  sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  " 
(Eph.  i,  13)  means  that  ye  received  as  your 
own  possession,  in  your  own  personal  ex- 
perience, the  earnest  of  your  inheritance ; 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  attests  your 
rightful  claim  to  it. 

These  examples  will  suffice  to  indicate 
the  scriptural  meaning  of  the  seal.  We 
have  only  to  apply  this  meaning  to  the  so- 
lution of  the  problem  before  us.  ''A  book 
written  within  and  on  the  back  side,"  that 
is,  completely,  all   over,  with  no   blank   or 

41 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

empty  space,  is  seen  lying  in  the  right  hand 
of  God  on  the  throne.  Plainly,  this  book 
with  its  contents  signifies  something  over 
which  the  divine  Being  asserts  supreme 
sovereignty,  which  he  claims  as  his  of  right 
and  alone.  And  the  number  of  the  seals — 
seven — indicates  that  this  sovereignty  is 
complete,  undivided,  perfect. 

What  the  contents  of  the  book  were  we 
may  infer  from  the  preceding  chapter  (iv), 
in  which  we  are  shown  the  court  of  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent,  with  his  loyal  and 
obedient  servants  and  hierarchies  worship- 
ing him  and  saying,  "  Thou  hast  created  all 
things,  and  for  thy  pleasure  they  are  and 
were  created."  The  book  with  its  seals  is 
a  symbol  of  the  fundamental  truth  of  all 
truths,  that  all  things  and  beings  in  this 
universe,  whatever  and  wherever  they  are, 
belong  originally  and  normally  to  the  Cre- 
ator. His  sovereignty  over  his  creatures  is 
absolute,  illimitable,  and  eternal. 

It  is  quite  in  accordance  with  John's  cast 
of  mind  (and  this  furnishes  no  slight  evi- 
dence as  to  the  authorship  of  the  Revela- 
tion) in  unfolding  to  us  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion to  take  his  stand  at  that  period  in  the 
past,  far  back  and  without  date,  when  God 

42 


Fundamental  Principles 

was  all  in  all,  and  when  sin  had  not  entered 
to  dispute  his  supremacy;  just  as  in  his 
gospel  he  commences,  not  with  the  Christ 
in  the  maturity  of  his  powers,  or  even  in- 
carnate in  the  flesh,  but  with  the  preexistent 
Word  who  was  *'in  the  beginning,"  ''was 
with  God,"  and  "  was  God."  Profoundest  of 
all  the  apostles,  his  mind  reveled  in  the  con- 
templation of  beginnings  and  ends,  of  the 
primeval  origin  and  final  consummation  of 
things,  of  the  alpha  and  omega  of  creation. 

But  along  with  this  vision  of  sovereignty 
came  the  coincident  remembrance  of  the 
universe  as  it  is,  disordered  and  in  rebellion ; 
of  a  sinful  world  wandering  from  its  orbit, 
disputing  the  supremacy  of  its  Maker  and 
God,  and  in  unequal  and  hopeless  conflict 
with  Omnipotence.  Into  whose  possession 
should  it  pass,  and  who  could  assume  the 
reins  of  power  which  seemed  to  have  fallen 
from  the  hands  of  the  Creator? 

A  thought  similar  to  this  appears  to  have 
passed  through  the  mind  of  Isaiah  when  he 
turned  from  the  vision  of  the  throne  ' '  high 
and  lifted  up,"  with  the  seraphim  veiling 
their  faces  in  the  presence  of  holy  Majesty, 
to  the  spectacle  of  himself  and  the  world, 
and  cried,  ''  Woe  is  me !  for  I  am  undone." 

43 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

So  John  ''  wept  much"  when,  after  this 
view  of  immaculate  purity  combined  with 
almightiness,  lie  contemplated  a  sinful  world 
powerless  to  dispute  what  it  would  not  will- 
ingly obey.  Who  was  there  worthy  to 
''open  the  book"  and  to  ''loose  the  seals 
thereof,"  and  thus  to  bring  back  creatures 
to  their  rightful  allegiance?  If  they  would 
not  submit,  yet  could  not  resist,  the  result 
could  be  only  disaster,  for  the  heavens 
mtist  rule,  and  successful  rebellion  was  im- 
possible. 

But  there  came  to  John  hope  and  help, 
as  there  had  come  also  to  Isaiah ;  and  to 
both  from  "  the  altar."  As  John  looked  he 
beheld  the  "  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,"  but 
in  the  form  of  a  "  Lamb  as  it  had  been 
slain,"  take  the  book  from  the  right  hand 
of  God  and  proceed  to  break  the  seals. 

Now,  if  a  seal  is  the  emblem  of  ownership 
it  follows  that  the  authorized  and  permitted 
loosing  of  a  seal  must  mean  the  transfer- 
ence, or  delegation,  of  proprietorship.  And 
this  is  the  meaning  here.  There  is  an  en- 
dowment— donation,  rather — of  authority, 
and  the  change  in  possession  is  published. 
That  which  belonged  to  and  had  been 
under  the  rule  of  the   Father  is  consigned 

44 


Fundamental  Principles 

to  and  becomes  the  possession  of  the 
Son.  And  the  change  is  not  simply  one  of 
sovereigns,  but  of  the  ground  principle  of 
sovereignty;  not  only  of  rulers,  but  of 
methods  of  rule.  The  song  of  the  ' '  elders  " 
and  ''living  creatures"  is  now,  not  ''  Thou 
didst  create,"  but  "  Thou  hast  redeemed  us 
to  God  by  thy  blood."  There  is  presented 
to  us,  in  fact,  a  picture  of  the  mediatorial 
sovereignty  of  the  Son  of  God.  We  see  the 
inauguration  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  the 
fundamental  principle  of  which  is,  ''  Ye  are 
not  your  own ;"  for  "ye  are  bought  with  a 
price:  therefore  glorify  God."  It  was 
written  in  the  Psalms,  "The  Lord  hath 
said  unto  me.  Thou  art  my  Son ;  this  day 
have  I  begotten  thee.  Ask  of  me,  and  I 
shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inherit- 
ance, and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  thy  possession."  John  was  looking 
upon  the  fulfillment  of  that  decree. 

Of  this  mediatorial  kingdom  of  Christ,  thus 
presented  to  us  in  symbol,  so  much  is  said  in 
the  Bible  that  only  a  few  texts  need  to  be  re- 
ferred to  out  of  the  many  which  might  be 
*  cited.  Our  Lord  himself  said  of  it  that  the 
Father  '  *  hath  committed  all  judgment  unto 

the  Son"  (John  v,  22).     And  again,  "All 
45 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

things  are  delivered  unto  me  of  my  Father" 
(Matt,  xi,  27).  And  still  again,  ''All  power 
is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth  " 
(Matt,  xxviii,  18).  So  in  Heb.  ii,  8,  it  is  re- 
corded, ''Thou  hast  put  all  things  in  sub- 
jection under  his  feet."  And  Paul  has  writ- 
ten, "  Then  cometh  the  end,  when  he  shall 
have  delivered  up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even 
the  Father ;  when  he  shall  have  put  down 
all  rule  and  all  authority  and  power.  For 
he  must  reign,  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies 
under  his  feet"  (i  Cor.  xv,  24,  25). 

2.  The  Opening  of  the  Seals. — In  the  exer- 
cise of  his  sovereignty  the  mediating  and 
atoning  Lamb  assumes  the  authority  com- 
mitted to  him,  and  the  history  of  redemp- 
tion begins.  We  approach  the  heart  of  this 
wonderful  book,  and  its  great  purpose  be- 
gins to  reveal  itself.  But  the  unfolding  of 
that  history  has  been  so  different  from  the 
conception  of  it  that  was  possible  even  to  an 
apostle  that  "blindness  in  part"  would 
happen  to  us  all  if  we  had  not  the  revela- 
tion of  God's  plans  made  known  to  us  in 
order  to  check  despondency  and  animate  to 
labor. 

John  was  one  of  those  to  whom  the  Mas- 
ter had  said,  "Behold,  I  send  you  forth." 

46 


Fundamental  Principles 

He  had  heard  and  has  recorded  the  prayer 
of  the  great  High  Priest,  *'As  thou  hast 
sent  me  into  the  world,  even  so  have  I  also 
sent  them  into  the  world."  He  had  received 
the  great  commission,  '*  Go  ye  therefore, 
and  teach  all  nations."  He  had  been  taught 
that  Christians  were  to  be  ''  the  salt  of  the 
earth  "  and  "  the  light  of  the  world"  and 
were  to  ''  occupy  "  until  Christ  comes  again. 
What  expectation  more  reasonable  could  he 
entertain  than  that  redemption,  proceeding 
from  the  heart  of  the  Father,  consummated 
in  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son,  and  applied  by  the 
ever-abiding  Spirit,  would  move  forward 
without  let  or  hindrance  from  its  commence- 
ment to  its  glorious  realization  ?  And  this 
is  implied  in  the  vision  of  the  opening  of  the 
first  seal :  ' '  Behold  a  white  horse :  and  he 
that  sat  on  him  had  a  bow ;  and  a  crown  was 
given  unto  him :  and  he  went  forth  conquer- 
ing, and  to  conquer."  The  first  stroke  of 
God's  providence  always  drives  the  kingdom 
well  forward.  It  is  the  subsequent  ones  that 
try  men's  faith. 

When  the  promise  of  the  seed  which 
sliould  bruise  the  serpent's  head  was  given 
to  Eve,  and,  following  that,  a  son  was  born 
to  her,  was  it  not  natural  that,  in  the  fullness 

47 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

of  her  faith,  she  should  exclaim,  ''  I  have 
gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord?  " 

When  Almighty  God,  v^ho  had  just  beaten 
down  Pharaoh  and  Amalek  and  written  the 
law  with  his  own  fingers,  said  to  Moses,  ''As 
truly  as  I  live,  all  the  earth  shall  be  filled 
with  the  glory  of  the  Lord,"  could  the 
prophet  have  any  doubt  that  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  would  move  triumphantly  onward 
until  it  came  to  perfect  rest  in  Canaan  ? 

There  is  much  to  show  that  the  apostles 
of  Christ  anticipated  the  speedy  conquest  of 
the  world  by  his  kingdom.  The  conversion 
of  thousands  at  Pentecost,  the  multitude  of 
accessions  which  followed,  the  obedience  of 
a  great  company  of  priests,  the  appearance 
of  miracles  all  conspired  to  foster  this  ex- 
pectation. The  morning  hour  of  every  ref- 
ormation is  brignt  and  golden.  It  is  later 
on  that  clouds  gather  and  the  skies  darken. 
Painful  realities  soon  shake  men  out  of  such 
sunny  dreams,  and  banish  such  fond  illusions 
as  did  the  murder  of  Abel,  the  lusting  after 
the  fleshpots  of  Egypt,  the  imprisonment  of 
Peter,  the  defection  of  Ananias,  the  martyr- 
dom of  Stephen  and  James.  And  as  the 
pendulum  of  hope  swings  so  easily  to  the 
extreme  of  despair,  and  every  little  Ai  seems 

48 


Fundamental  Principles 

to  our  alarmed  imagination  a  walled  Jericho, 
nothing  can  be  conceived  more  helpful  to 
faith  and  courage  than  to  learn  that  such 
things  must  needs  be,  and  to  be  comforted 
at  the  same  time  with  the  assurance  that, 
though  in  the  world  we  shall  have  tribula- 
tion, yet  Christ  has  overcome  the  world  and 
we  must  not  lose  heart. 

This  is  the  purpose  for  which  the  visions 
accompanying  the  opening  of  the  seals  were 
given  to  John.  The  second  seal  signifies 
war;  the  third,  famine;  the  fourth,  pesti- 
lence ;  the  fifth,  martyrdom ;  the  sixth, 
revolutions  that  seem  to  ' '  shake  the  heav- 
ens, and  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the 
dry  land."  These  are  strange  instru- 
ments to  do  God's  will,  unlookod-for  mes- 
sengers to  perform  his  bidding.  But  not 
only  all  things,  but  all  events  as  well,  are 
under  the  sovereignty  of  Christ;  and  in 
spite  of  these  obstacles,  and  perhaps  by 
means  of  them,  his  kingdom  moves  forward. 
And  when  the  seventh  and  last  seal  shall  be 
broken,  when  every  messenger  shall  have 
been  delegated,  when  the  last  needed  en- 
couragement shall  have  been  given  and  the 
last  enemy  destroyed,  then  will  come  the 
unbroken  and  eternal  Sabbath  of  rest. 

4  49 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

3 .  The  Sealed  £/eeL—The  third  part  of  this 
section  comprises  two  visions :  first,  of  the 
**  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand," 
out  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  sealed  in 
their  foreheads;  and,  then,  of  a  great 
multitude  out  of  all  nations  and  peoples, 
clothed  in  white  robes  and  bearing  palms 
in  their  hands.  The  purpose  of  these  vi- 
sions is  to  show  that  God's  ownership  ex- 
tends, not  only  to  things  and  events,  but  to 
persons  as  well.  ''  The  Lord  knoweth 
them  that  are  his." 

There  need  not  be  any  hesitation  in  in- 
terpreting these  visions  as  referring  to  Jew- 
ish and  Gentile  Christians  respectively. 
The  same  distinction  between  the  two  is 
made  in  chap,  xiv,  i-6,  where  the  hundred 
and  forty-four  thousand  who  stand  on  Mount 
Zion  singing  a  song  which  no  others  could 
learn,  namely,  the  song  of  Moses  and  the 
Lamb,  are  marked  off  from  those  in  every 
nation  and  people  to  whom  the  angel  flies 
with  the  everlasting  Gospel. 

It  is  not  meant,  surely,  that  the  number 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  is  to 
be  taken  in  an  absolutely  literal  sense.  The 
definite  number  in  all  probability  stands  for 
a  great  multitude.     How  large  the  number 

50 


Fundamental  Principles 

of  believing  Israelites  was  in  the  days  of 
the  apostle  we  have  no  means  of  determin- 
ing. That  it  was  large  may  be  fairly  in- 
ferred from  Acts  xxi,  20.  And  in  the 
great  day  of  accounts  the  number  may  be 
seen  to  be  beyond  our  largest  calculation 0 

Still  less  are  we  authorized  to  impute  this 
separation  of  Jew  from  Gentile  to  any  na- 
tional exclusiveness  on  the  part  of  John. 
No  apostle  of  the  circumcision  was  any  more 
emphatic  than  was  Paul,  the  apostle  of  the 
Gentiles,  in  asserting  that  the  order  of  sal- 
vation is,  first,  the  Jew,  then,  the  Gentile, 
and  that  *'God  hath  not  cast  away  his 
people  which  he  foreknew,"  although 
''blindness  in  partis  happened  to  Israel, 
until  the  fullness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come 
in."  And  what  part  the  Jew  may  yet  play 
in  bringing  about  that  fullness  no  man  is 
able  to  predict. 

Moreover,  there  is  no  inferiority  implied 
in  the  privileges  and  graces  which  the 
great  multitude  enjoys  as  compared  with 
the  sealed  elect.  They  are  kings  and 
priests  unto  God;  they  are  clothed  with 
the  robes  of  victory  and  joy.  And  the 
images  by  which  their  nearness  to  Christ 
and  their  participation  in  the  fullest  meas- 

61 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

ure  of  nourisliment,  safety,  and  felicity  are 
expressed  are  not  elsewhere  exceeded  in  the 
Revelation .  The  description  of  their  triumph 
seems  to  anticipate  the  consummation  of  the 
ideal  kingdom  of  Christ,  with  which  the  clos- 
ing chapters  of  the  Apocalypse  are  replete. 

62 


PART  m 

XEbe  fUbcnns  by  wbtcb  tbe  mtufiDom  of 
Cbrist  is  EDvance^ 


Means  by  which  Advanced 


PART  III 

The  Means  by  which  the  Kingfdom  of  Christ 
is  Advanced — Emblem  of  the  Trumpet 

The  section  of  the  Revelation  whicli  be- 
gins with  chap,  viii,  2,  and  closes  with  chap, 
xi,  is  characterized  by  the  symbol  of  the 
trumpet.  In  the  interpretation  of  this  sym- 
bol the  key  to  the  understanding  of  the 
section  must  be  found.  It  must  not  be  in- 
ferred, because  the  vision  of  the  trumpets 
follows  that  of  the  seals,  that  it  designates 
events  subsequent  to  the  latter.  The  seals 
themselves,  as  we  have  seen,  are  not  in- 
tended to  be  predictions  of  historical  events, 
but  strictly  emblems  of  truths  or  principles ; 
and  the  trumpets  must  be  in  like  manner 
regarded.  Succession,  coincidence,  or  any 
other  relation  of  time  has  no  necessary  con- 
nection with  them.  They  represent  varying 
phases  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  their 
relation  thereto  is  the  only  one  that  need  be 
regarded. 

The  trumpet  was  a  familiar  instrument  in 
the  ritual  of  Judaism,  having  a  well-known 
and  prescribed  use,  and  is  frequently  re- 
ferred to  in  the  Scriptures.  The  mention 
55 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

of  the  word  would  readily  suggest  to  the 
mind  of  a  Jew  its  symbolic  import,  and  the 
writer  of  the  Apocalypse  doubtless  em- 
ployed it  in  this  sense. 

The  trumpet  was  used  as  a  means  of  sum- 
mons. When  an  assembly  was  to  be  gath- 
ered, when  an  alarm  was  to  be  given,  when 
a  message  was  to  be  communicated,  it  was  by 
the  trumpet  that  attention  was  arrested  and 
a  hearing  enforced.  It  signified  that  tidings 
were  to  be  delivered  to  which  it  behooved 
men  to  listen.  It  increased  the  range  of  the 
unassisted  human  voice,  with  the  difference 
that,  while  the  intensifying  of  the  sound 
through  the  use  of  the  instrument  carried  it 
over  larger  spaces,  there  was  a  loss  of  that 
delicacy,  flexibility,  and  capacity  to  convey 
emotions  which  belong  to  the  unaided  human 
organs  of  speech. 

It  was  by  the  trumpet,  sounding  long  and 
loud,  that  Jehovah  announced  his  presence 
at  Sinai  to  Moses  and  the  awe-stricken 
people,  and  bade  them  prepare  to  receive  his 
law.  It  was  by  the  blowing  of  trumpets 
that  the  approach  of  the  jubilee  year  was 
announced — that  very  striking  type  of  the 
redemption  purchased  by  Christ.  When  the 
Israelites   were   marching   around    Jericho 

5G 


•#■ 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

'*  seven  priests  bearing  seven  trumpets  of 
rams' horns"  went  before  the  ark  of  the 
Lord;  and  on  the  seventh  day,  when,  **at 
the  seventh  time,"  the  priests  blew  with  the 
trumpets,  the  walls  fell.  And  the  prophet 
Joel  says,  "  Blow  the  trumpet  in  Zion,  sanc- 
tify a  fast,  call  a  solemn  assembly :  gather 
the  people."  So  familiarly  has  this  symbol- 
ism passed  over  into  the  Christian  Church 
that  the  preaching  of  salvation  is  very  com- 
monly spoken  of  as  the  blowing  of  the  Gos- 
pel trumpet. 

If  the  seals  emblematize  the  truth  that 
all  things  belong  of  right  to  Christ  as  Me- 
diator, the  question  very  naturally  follows. 
How  is  this  de  jure  ownership  to  be  made  a 
de  facto  one,  and  what  instruments  are  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  Church  to  enable  it  to 
establish  the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth? 
The  vision  of  the  trumpets  is  designed  to 
be  the  answer  to  this  question. 

The  trumpets,  then,  signify  the  instru- 
mentalities by  which  men  are  called  to  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  or  the  measures  which 
the  divine  Being  employs  to  advance  that 
*  kingdom.  Their  number,  seven,  indicates 
that  these  measures  are  complete  and  com- 
prehensive, including  every  available  re- 
57 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

source  and  employing  all  possible  methods 
of  approach  to  man.  God  avails  himself  of 
every  legitimate  device  to  constrain  a  sin- 
ful world  to  accept  the  proffer  of  salvation 
ere  he  passes  from  chastisement  and  correc- 
tion to  retributive  and  final  judgment.  Thus 
those  who  reject  the  offer  will  be  found 
without  excuse,  and  the  despisers  of  the 
wedding  garment  will  be  stricken  speech- 
less in  the  da)^  of  accounts. 

The  sounding  of  the  trumpets,  it  will  be 
noticed,  is  preceded  by  the  ''  prayers  of  the 
saints;"  for  that  ''the  effectual  fervent 
prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much  " 
with  God  is  one  of  the  fundamental  facts  of 
the  kingdom  (Psalm  xviii,  6-17).  And  the 
token  of  the  hearing  of  the  prayers  is  seen 
in  the  ''voices,  and  thunderings,  and  light- 
nings, and  an  earthquake"  that  followed 
when  the  seven  angels  with  the  trumpets 
prepared  to  sound.  The  vision  doubtless 
recalled  to  John's  mind  the  remembrance 
of  that  day  when,  as  the  disciples  prayed, 
' '  the  place  was  shaken  where  they  were 
assembled  together;  "  God  revealing  him- 
self in  the  new  dispensation  as  he  had  done 
at  Sinai  when  about  to  communicate  his 
law.     The  grandeur  of  the  preparation  sug- 

58 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

gests  the  importance  of  the  tidings  to  be 
communicated. 

It  will  be  also  observed  that  the  episode 
of  the  ''two  witnesses"  (chap,  xi)  falls 
within  the  section  marked  by  the  trumpet 
emblem.  The  appropriateness  of  this  and 
the  ease  with  which  it  takes  its  place  here 
furnish  no  slight  evidence  that  the  explana- 
tion of  the  Revelation  adopted  in  this  essay 
is  correct. 

There  are  two  modes  by  which  the  divine 
Being  has  chosen  to  communicate  the 
knowledge  of  himself  and  of  his  will. 
These  are  his  works  and  his  word.  The 
one  is  that  manifestation  of  himself  in  na- 
ture of  which  Paul  speaks  when  he  says, 
''  The  invisible  things  of  him  from  the  cre- 
ation of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being 
understood  by  the  things  that  are  made, 
even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead." 
The  other  is  supernatural,  the  revelation  of 
himself  as  a  power  above  nature  and  not 
limited  by  its  laws.  It  is  of  this  that  Peter 
says,  *  *  We  have  also  a  more  sure  word  of 
prophecy." 

The  most  searching  and  subtle  analysis 
to  which  knowledge  and  its  sources  have 
been  subjected  has   resulted   in  this — that 

59 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

even  in  the  alembic  of  modern  doubt,  after 
the  most  biting  acids  have  tried  their  solv- 
ent power,  there  is  left  as  the  residuum  a 
conviction  that,  besides  tliis  known  and 
knowable  universe,  there  exists  a  first  cause 
or  force.  At  the  beginning  and  basis  of  all 
things  a  duality  must  be  acknowledged.  If 
human  thought  by  its  unaided  light  is  in- 
competent to  go  beyond  this,  it  is  not  allowed 
to  stop  short  of  it.  ''The  momentum  of 
thought,"  Herbert  Spencer  says,  **  inevita- 
bly carries  us  beyond  conditioned  existence 
to  unconditioned  existence."  "The  cer- 
tainty that,  on  the  one  hand,  such  a  power 
exists,  while,  on  the  other,  its  nature  tran- 
wScends  intuition  and  is  beyond  imagination, 
is  the  certainty  toward  which  intelligence 
has  been  from  the  first  progressing.  To 
this  conclusion  science  inevitably  arrives  as 
it  reaches  its  confines."  This  power,  which 
science  may  know  only  as  * '  an  infinite  and 
eternal  energy,"  is  the  Being  whom  the 
Scriptures  reveal  to  us  as  the  Lord  God,  of 
whom  and  through  whom  and  to  whom  '  'are 
all  things :  to  whom  be  glory  forever." 

From  this  first  Cause  knowledge  comes  to 
us  through  two  channels — his  deeds  and 
his  words.     The  first  of  these  is  accessible 

GO 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

to  all  mankind ;  for  the  Gentiles,  whicli 
have  not  the  law,  **  show  the  work  of  the 
law  written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience 
also  bearing  witness."  But  as  that  which 
is  constant  and  habitual  soon  ceases  to  at- 
tract attention,  and  the  orderly  and  uniform 
processes  of  nature  excite  less  interest  and 
awaken  feebler  curiosity  than  the  anomalous 
and  occasional,  in  like  manner  it  is  most 
frequently  by  calamities,  adversities,  seem- 
ing withdrawals  of  God's  face  that  men  are 
brought  to  reflection,  consideration,  and 
obedience.  *'  When  thy  judgments  are  in 
the  earth,  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  will 
learn  righteousness."  It  is  this  truth  that 
the  vision  of  the  trumpets  symbolizes.  It 
signifies  the  warnings  in  the  field  of  natural 
providence  which  the  divine  Being  gives 
to  men,  in  order  to  show  the  evil  and 
peril  of  sin  and  thus  draw  back  their  souls 
from  the  pit.  The  second  of  these  channels 
of  knowledge  is  found  in  the  oracles  of  God, 
the  Scriptures  committed  to  the  chosen  peo- 
ple. And  these  are  symbolized  in  the  epi- 
♦  sode  of  the  *Hwo  witnesses,"  which  forms  a 
part  of  the  trumpet  section. 

The  details  of  the  trumpet  scenes  are  not, 
it  must  be  confessed,  easy  of  interpretation. 

61 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

They  seem  to  be  selected  from  various  parts 
of  the  Old  Testament,  and  grouped  accord- 
ing to  some  plan  not  explained  to  us,  sug- 
gesting the  thought  that  the  interpretation 
of  them  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  single 
event,  but  in  some  common  truth  embodied 
in  many  events. 

The  conjunction  of  **  hail  "  with  *'  fire*' 
(viii,  7)  is  also  found  in  Exod.  ix,  24;  that 
of  *'fire"  with  ''blood"  (viii,  7)  in  Joel 
ii,  30 ;  while  all  three  of  these  elements  are 
separately  mentioned  in  many  passages. 
The  moving  of  mountains  (viii,  8)  is  re- 
ferred to  in  Psalm  xlvi,  2,  and  Isa.  liv,  10; 
and  a  burning  mountain  in  Jer.  li,  2$. 
''Wormwood"  (viii,  11)  occurs  in  Jer.  ix, 
15,  and  Amos  v,  7.  The  darkening  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  (viii,  12)  is  found  also  in 
Isa.  xiii,  10;  Amos  viii,  9;  and  Joel  ii,  31. 
"  Locusts"  (ix,  3)  are  mentioned  in  Exod. 
x,  4;   Nahum  iii,  17;  Joel  i,  4. 

But  the  assemblage  of  the  events  in  the 
Revelation  differs  from  any  other  in  the 
Bible.  It  is  more  systematically  arranged 
than  in  the  series  foretold  by  our  Lord  in 
Matt.  xxiv.  It  differs  from  the  account  of 
the  Egyptian  plagues  of  Exodus  in  omis- 
sions, the  introduction  of  new  details,  and 

62 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

in  the  fact  that  the  plagues  occur  in  a  dif- 
ferent order.  The  hail,  for  instance,  whicli 
is  the  seventh  Egyptian  plague,  is  the  first 
of  the  plagues  in  the  Revelation.  All  this 
may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the 
plagues  of  Egypt  were  confined  to  that 
country  and  were  adapted  to  its  local  cli- 
matic conditions,  while  the  plagues  of  the 
Revelation  have  for  tbeir  field  the  world  it- 
self, and  were  intentionally  diversified  in 
being  fitted  to  this  larger  sphere. 

That  a  close  connection  exists  between 
man  and  his  dwelling  place,  the  earth,  is  a 
truth  in  which  both  science  and  the  Scrip- 
tures cordially  concur ;  the  dispute,  if  any, 
between  them  is  not  as  to  the  fact,  but  its 
cause.  The  doctrine  of  evolution,  which 
receives  such  wide  acceptance,  rests  upon 
this  connection  as  a  fundamental  axiom ; 
and  the  Scriptures  confirm  the  fact  in  the 
accounts  of  the  creation  and  the  fall.  The 
difference  between  science  and  the  Scrip- 
tures is,  that  what  evolution  attributes  to 
the  operation  of  natural  law  the  Bible  ex- 
plains by  the  working  of  a  moral  power. 
As  for  man's  sake  the  ground  was  cursed 
and  all  nature  made  to  suffer  by  reason  of 
his  rebellion,  so  do  they  bear  constant  wit- 

63 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

ness  to  his  advance  or  degeneration  in  right- 
eousness. As  purity  is  in  general  promo- 
tive of  prosperity,  so  does  sin  produce  dis- 
aster. ' '  As  the  moral  life  of  the  soul 
expresses  itself  in  the  physical  life  of  the 
body  for  the  latter's  health  or  corruption,  so 
the  conduct  of  the  human  race  affects  the 
physical  life  of  the  universe  to  its  farthest 
limit  in  space.  The  Old  Testament  is  not 
contented  with  a  general  statement  of  this 
great  principle,  but  pursues  it  to  all  sorts  of 
particular  and  private  applications.  The 
curses  of  the  Lord  fell,  not  only  on  the  sin- 
ner, but  on  his  dwelling,  his  property,  and 
even  on  the  bit  of  ground  he  occupied. 
The  doctrine  of  the  Old  Testament  is  that 
man's  sin  has  rendered  necessary  the  de- 
struction of  his  material  circumstances,  and 
that  the  divine  judgment  includes  a  broken 
and  rifled  universe."  "^ 

And  these  calamities,  w^hether  brought 
about  directly  by  the  divine  Governor,  or 
through  the  operation  of  general  laws,  which 
is  but  another  mode  of  his  action,  are  so  many 
trumpet  calls  from  God  warning  men  to  re- 
trace their  erring  steps  and  submit  to  his 

*  Isaiah,  vol.  i.  chap,  xxxviii,  pp.  419,  ff.,  in  the  Exposi 
tor's  Bible,  New  York,  A.  C.  Armstrong  &  Co. 
G-1 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

kingdom.  ''  It  was  plague  and  fire,"  Leigh 
Hunt  says,  ''  that  first  taught  the  London- 
ers to  build  their  city  better."  And  the 
divine  Being  may  make  use  of  like  means 
to  forward  his  moral  government. 

I .  Natural  Providences. — In  the  first  trum- 
pet scene  the  blow  falls  upon  the  earth  itself. 
Its  productive  resources  were  severely  di- 
minished through  the  destructive  agencies 
of  nature,  intensified,  it  may  be,  by  the 
horrors  of  war.  The  hail  and  the  fire  were 
mingled  with  blood.  And,  since  food  is 
essential  to  life,  ''the  king  himself  being 
served  by  the  field,"  such  a  disaster  must 
sorely  oppress  mankind.  The  apostle  had 
himself  witnessed  at  least  one  widely- ex- 
tended famine,  and  had  noted  how  the  ex- 
hibition of  Christian  benevolence  had  been 
made  the  means  of  promoting  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  (Acts  xi,  28-30). 

The  second  trumpet  scene  deals  with  disas- 
ters affecting  "the  sea,"  the  great  highway 
of  commerce,  and  disturbing  the  exchanges 
of  the  products  of  labor  among  men.  More 
>  than  once  in  the  history  of  the  world  social 
revolutions  have  been  the  plowshare  turn- 
ing up  the  soil,  that  seeds  of  religious  refor- 
mation mJght  the  better  grow. 

5  65 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

In  the  tJiird  trumpet  scene  it  is  the  sources 
of  water  supply  that  are  affected.  A  star, 
falling  from  heaven,  turns  them  to  worm- 
wood, which  in  the  Old  Testament  is  used 
as  a  symbol  of  bitterness  and  poisoning. 
It  is  in  the  contamination  of  these  sources 
that  epidemics  and  pestilences  usually  find 
their  commencement,  and  a  merciful  Provi- 
dence generally  spares  them  until  other  and 
milder  warnings  have  been  tried. 

In  the  foitrtJi  trumpet  scene  the  heavenly 
bodies  are  involved,  carrying  out  the  idea, 
so  frequently  expressed  in  the  Bible,  of  the 
sympathy  which  the  whole  creation  seems 
to  feel  with  the  great  events  transacted  on 
earth.  The  universe  is  so  bound  together 
that  whatever  touches  one  part  of  the  great 
Governor's  empire  ultimately  affects  every 
other  (Exod.  x,  21-24;  Isa.  xiii,  9-1 1 ;  Joel 
ii,  31 ;  Matt,  xxiv,  29;  xxvii,  45).  Yet  the 
images  in  this  scene  may  be  figurative  em- 
blems of  the  ruling  powers  of  earthly  king- 
doms, and  the  vision  may  be  interpreted  as 
synonymous  with  the  predictions  of  Hag.  ii, 
6-9,  and  Heb.  xii,  26-29,  i^^  which  the 
shaking  of  heaven  and  earth  is  made  to 
precede  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ. 

66 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

The  fifth  trumpet  scene  is  undoubtedly 
the  most  difficult  of  all  to  interpret  and  re- 
quires more  elaborate  treatment.  In  striv- 
ing- to  explain  its  obscurities  the  only  safe 
and  satisfactory  method  is  to  search  for 
what  may  be  regarded  as  certain  and  plain 
in  the  vision,  and  from  this  as  a  starting 
point  to  essay  the  more  difficult. 

Two  things  seem  to  stand  out  prominently 
and  comparatively  clearly  in  the  scene. 
Assuming  the  star  which  fell  from  heaven, 
to  whom  was  given  the  key  of  the  bottomless 
pit,  and  who  is  closely  connected  with  the 
angel  of  the  pit  named  Abaddon  or  Apol- 
lyon — that  is,  destroyer — to  be  a  repre- 
sentation of  Satan,  then  for  the  first  time 
this  archenemy  of  God  and  man  is  in- 
troduced personally  upon  the  stage.  In 
whatever  the  fifth  trumpet  signifies  he  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  has  a  preeminent  share. 
Then,  again,  the  mention  of  locusts  points 
us  to  the  prophecy  of  Joel,  where  the  de- 
structive ravages  of  this  scourge  are  such  a 
conspicuous  figure.  If  we  can  reach  a  satis- 
factory solution  of  Joel's  prophecy  we  may 
reasonably  expect  an  understanding  of  this 
prophecy  of  the  Revelation. 

In  the  great  prophecy  of  Joel,  brief  in 

67 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

extent,  but  comprehensive  in  import,  the 
background  upon  which  the  earnest  preacher 
of  God  paints  his  vivid  pictures  is  the  alarm- 
ing condition  of  spiritual  declension  and 
apathy  into  which  the  people  had  fallen, 
accompanied  wdth  fearful  neglect  of  the 
service  of  God  and  its  ordinances.  To 
awaken  the  people  out  of  this  deadly  state 
he  predicts  the  approach  of  an  awful 
scourge,  the  ravages  of  which  would  be 
felt  in  a  resultant  condition  of  extraordi- 
nary impoverishment  and  penury.  Pov- 
erty of  spirit  must  precede  entrance  into 
the  riches  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
And  so  the  prophet  is  commissioned  to 
promise  that,  after  repentance  and  re- 
newal of  consecration,  there  shall  be  a 
rich  and  plentiful  effusion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit;  and  he  assures  the  penitent  that 
**  whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  delivered"  and  shall  escape 
the  impending  destruction. 

Nothing  is  more  probable,  therefore,  than 
that  the  writer  of  the  Revelation  meant  to 
warn  the  Church  of  Christ  against  a  decline 
in  faith  or  relaxation  in  zeal.  He  assured 
it  that  such  a  lapse  would  be  followed  by 
the  intrusion  into  its  field  of  some  danger- 

68 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

ous  enemy.  What  the  character  of  this 
enemy  should  be  is  indicated  by  two  things. 
It  will  be  noticed  that,  if  John  deviates  from 
the  description  of  the  locusts  given  by  Joel, 
it  is  in  the  direction  of  bringing  humanity 
more  into  the  picture.  The  locusts  spoken 
of  in  this  fifth  trumpet  scene  are  to  have 
crowns  like  gold  upon  their  heads;  their 
faces  are  to  be  as  the  faces  of  men ;  their 
hair  to  be  as  the  hair  of  women ;  they  are 
to  hurt,  not  as  real  locusts  do,  the  earth 
and  its  products,  but  men ;  their  sting,  un- 
like that  of  other  locusts,  is  to  be  as  the 
sting  of  scorpions ;  and  their  v\^ork  will  be, 
not  the  destruction  of  human  life,  but  the 
causing  of  such  misery  as  to  make  human 
life  unhappy  and  undesirable.  They  are 
to  be  under  the  direction  of  Satan,  whose 
field  of  operations  in  the  warfare  he  wages 
against  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is,  not  the 
earth,  but  the  world  of  human  beings. 

The  truth,  then,  which  seems  to  be  indi- 
cated in  this  obscure  vision  is,  that  when- 
ever a  Christian  man  or  Church  declines 
into  lukewarmness  or  apathy  there  may  be 
expected  to  follow  an  incursion  and  inva- 
sion by  other  and  lower  forms  of  reli- 
gious life  and  thought.    Wherever  iniquity 

69 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

abounds  and  the  "love  of  many"  waxes 
cold  there  is  sure  to  be  an  inroad  of  heresy, 
false  doctrine,  more  or  less  heterodoxy 
of  creed.  The  human  heart,  like  nature, 
abhors  a  vacuum.  Where  true  godliness 
wanes  false  religions  rush  in  to  fill  the 
void ;  and  the  intensity  of  zeal  which  false 
religions  awaken  measures  the  declension 
that  has  befallen  true  faith.  The  evil  spirit 
that  comes  back  to  a  home  from  which  he 
has  been  once  expelled,  and  finds  it  empty, 
swept,  and  garnished,  takes  to  himself 
seven  other  spirits  more  wicked  than  him- 
self, ''and  the  last  state  of  that  man  is 
worse  than  the  first."  The  temperature  of 
religion  when  it  falls  to  lower  levels  never 
does  so  equably.  The  nobler  and  more 
ideal  parts  suffer  most  severely,  and,  like 
the  shriveled  idol  of  the  Philistines,  at  last 
"  only  the  stump  of  Dagon  is  left  to  him." 
There  can  be  no  question  that  the  advo- 
cates of  the  historical  interpretation  of  the 
Revelation  have  a  very  strong  support  for 
their  hypothesis  in  the  application  of  this 
part  of  it  to  the  rise  and  growth  of  Moham- 
medanism. It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  many 
of  the  essential  characteristics  of  that  false 
religion  are  quite  accurately  delineated  in 

70 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

this  picture.  The  rise  and  rapid  extension 
of  Mohammedanism  were  possible  only 
because  of  the  dead,  formal,  and  corrupt 
condition  of  the  Christendom  which  it 
encountered.  Its  prophet  and  founder 
preached  a  faith  which  was  purer  than  that 
of  many  a  so-called  Christian  bishop ;  and 
it  achieves  its  triumphs  now  only  in  those 
regions  where  Christianity  has  degenerated 
into  spiritual  barrenness  and  puerile  cere- 
monialism. But  in  this,  as  in  so  many  in- 
stances, the  historical  interpretation  errs, 
not  through  incorrectness,  so  much  as 
through  incompleteness.  In  claiming  any 
one  historical  event  as  the  fulfillment  of 
prophecy  it  impoverishes  inspiration  by  con- 
fining that  fulfillment  to  a  vsingle  fact. 
Mohammedanism  is  but  one  illustration  of 
a  profounder  truth.  The  Revelation  of 
John  is  meant  for  all  ages.  It  is  constantly 
finding  new  illustrations  and  applications. 
In  setting  before  us  the  causes  of  decline  as 
well  as  of  growth,  the  Revelation  teaches 
us  to  be  looking  for  these  causes  at  all 
times,  that  we  may  avert  the  decline  or  for- 
ward the  growth ;  and  thus  it  is  furnishing 
new  examples  of  its  divine  truth  and  new 
evidences  of  its  divine  origin,  without  ex- 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Iiausting  its  force  in  any  single  example  or 
any  single  evidence. 

The  sixth  trumpet  sounds,  and  the  vision 
which  is  presented  to  us  is  one  of  increasing 
danger  and  darkness.  Warnings  unheeded 
give  way  to  alarms  still  more  threatening. 
The  noonday  bell  of  invitation  deepens  into 
the  curfew  toll  of  departing  day.  The  ap- 
proach of  an  immense  and  imposing  array 
of  horsemen  armed  for  battle  strikes  deeper 
terror  than  did  the  invasion  of  the  locusts 
and  indicates  judgments  more  formidable. 
The  power  of  Satan  to  harm  is  overmaster- 
ing mercy's  efforts  to  save,  and  the  restric- 
tions which  had  been  laid  upon  his  authority 
are  being  relaxed.  We  are  told  now  that 
' '  by  these  three  was  the  third  part  of  men 
killed,  by  the  fire,  and  by  the  smoke,  and 
by  the  brimstone."  As  there  is  suggested  a 
spiritual  condition  which  has  gone  beyond 
mere  declension  and  apathy  to  deeper  states 
of  alienation  from  God,  so  the  perils  threat- 
ened end,  not  with  a  destruction  of  the  hap- 
piness of  life,  but  in  death  itself. 

It  must  be  noticed  that  the  region  from 
which  the  new  and  alarming  scourge  pro- 
ceeds is  the  "great  river  Euphrates."  To 
understand  this  we  must  place  ourselves  at 

12 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

the  standpoint  of  the  apostle.  The  river 
Euphrates  was  to  Palestine  what  the  Dan- 
ube and  the  Rhine  were  to  the  Roman 
empire — the  line  of  demarcation  between 
civilization  and  barbarism.  The  East  was 
the  quarter  from  which  the  earlier  prophets 
always  apprehended  danger.  It  was  in  the 
Euphrates  that  Jeremiah  was  bidden  to  cast 
the  book  with  the  stone  tied  to  it  (Jer.  li, 
63).  On  the  hither  side  of  the  great  river 
lay  the  kingdoms  with  which  Israel  had 
mainly  had  intercourse.  On  the  north  of 
Palestine  was  Syria,  on  the  south,  Egypt; 
on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris 
or  near  by  were  Assyria  and  Babylon.  The 
peoples  of  these  kingdoms  were,  indeed, 
nations  whose  God  was  not  the  Lord ;  yet 
between  them  and  Israel  a  modus  vivendi  had 
to  some  degree  been  established,  and  some 
common  rules  of  international  intercourse 
were  recognized.  But  on  the  farther  side 
was  the  land  of  barbarians  among  whom 
the  arts  of  civilization  were  unknown,  who 
acknowledged  no  code  of  comity  or  obliga- 
tion with  which  the  chosen  people  were 
familiar,  whose  ways  and  modes  of  warfare 
were  impenetrable  and  strange,  and  from 
whom  all  possible  evils  might  be  expected. 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

There  is,  it  must  be  sadly  confessed,  in 
all  human  beings  a  latent  germ  of  barbar- 
ism, a  survival  of  the  carnal  or  animal  na- 
ture. Suppressed,  indeed,  it  may  be  by 
culture,  education,  or  other  moral  or  secu- 
lar forces,  and  its  existence  hardly  surmised, 
yet  it  only  awaits  fostering  conditions  to 
manifest  its  presence  and  reassert  its  power. 
Without  divine  grace  no  Christian  is  free 
from  liability  to  an  outburst  of  the  carnal 
mind  which  may  destroy  the  spiritual  life  of 
the  soul.  Nor  does  any  grade  of  civilization 
exempt  nations  from  the  possibility  of  a  re- 
version to  barbarism,  if  the  excitements  to 
it  are  allowed  to  exist  or  precautions  against 
its  inroads  are  neglected.  Bishop  Butler 
expressed  the  opinion  that  whole  communi- 
ties, like  individuals,  might  become  insane. 
Perhaps  it  is  nearer  the  truth  to  explain  the 
sudden  frenzies  to  which  men  and  nations 
have  sometimes  given  way  as  an  uncon- 
trolled irruption  of  the  barbarous  element 
within.  Farther  on,  in  the  twentieth  chap- 
ter of  the  Revelation,  we  shall  find  this 
tendency  toward  barbarism  more  particu- 
larly referred  to  by  John,  and  the  appre- 
ciation of  it  will  help  us  there  to  solve  one 
of  the  most  perplexing  problems  of  the  book. 

74 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

Ethnolog;y  either  ignores  this  liability  to 
revert  to  barbarism  or  denies  it,  and  by  so 
doing  impairs  the  value  of  those  hypoth- 
eses as  to  the  primitive  condition  of  the 
race  which  it  seeks  to  substitute  for  the 
Bible  story.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  de- 
termine whether  any  particular  stage  of 
barbarism  marks  a  step  upward  in  the 
advance  of  a  growing  people  or  a  decline 
toward  animalism  from  a  superior  state; 
yet  the  correctness  of  our  inferences  de- 
pends upon  an  accurate  diagnosis  of  this 
question. 

But  human  experience  is  constantly  fur- 
nishing illustrations  confirming  the  utter- 
ances of  the  word  of  God  as  to  the  possibility 
of  a  fall  from  high  grades  of  cultivation  to 
the  depths  of  savagery.  If  the  counsels  of 
God  are  unheeded  and  the  convictions  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  are  resisted  nothing  can 
follow  but  a  descent  into  lower  grades,  until 
the  savage  forces  that  underlie  our  nature 
assert  supremacy  and  overleap  the  weak 
barriers  which  reason  and  judgment  set  up 
to  stay  them. 

Something   like   this    seems    to   be    the 

warning    meant   to  be   conveyed   through 

the   sixth   trumpet.     A  striking  commen- 
ts 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

tary  upon  this  was  given  but  a  few  centu- 
ries after  John's  death,  when  the  hordes  of 
barbarians  that  had  been  only  waiting  op- 
portunity swept  witli  irresistible  fury  over 
the  crumbling-  walls  of  tlie  corrupt  and 
decadent  Roman  Empire,  and  imposed  upon 
tlie  Christian  Church  tlie  task  of  saving 
civilization  itself  from  destruction.  We 
may  not  even  now  relax  our  watchfulness 
or  put  off  the  armor  of  our  faith,  lest  this 
may  involve  a  reversion  of  mankind  to  bar- 
baric naturalism.  And  a  return  to  barbar- 
ism is  the  lowest  condition  to  wbicli  human 
nature  can  fall.  From  such  a  state  recovery 
is  well-nigh  hopeless  and  repentance  an  ex- 
treme improbability,  for  the  resources  of 
mercy  will  have  been  almost  exhausted,  and 
beyond  lies  only  doom. 

It  should  be  noticed  that  the  Revelation 
speaks  of  three  woes.  The  first  one  pre- 
dicted is  described  under  the  fifth  trumpet. 
The  second  one  is  declared  by  the  sixth 
trumpet.  The  third  one  is  not  uncovered 
at  all.  It  lies  in  that  future  world  from 
which  the  curtain  is  not  lifted  and  into 
which  even  the  light  of  revelation  feebly 
penetrates.  Whoever  has  rejected  all  the 
warnings  of  love  and  descended  the  moral 

76 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

scale  until  he  has  reverted  to  the  state  of 
sensualism  is  but  a  step  from  the  second 
death.  '*  He  that  soweth  to  his  flesh  shall 
of  the  flesh  reap  corruption." 

2.  TJie  Two  Witnesses,  or,  the  Supernatural 
Scriptures. — The  episode  of  the  * '  two  wit- 
nesses," to  which  we  are  now  brought,  is 
one  that  has  sorely  tried  expositors.  Though 
many  and  various  solutions  of  it  have  been 
attempted,  Alford,  in  his  commentary  upon 
the  passage,  says,  ''  I  will  further  remark, 
and  the  reader  will  find  this  abundantly 
borne  out  by  research  into  histories  of 
Apocalyptic  exegesis,  that  no  solution  at 
all  approaching  to  a  satisfactory  one  has 
ever  yet  been  given  ...  of  this  portion  of 
the  prophecy."  If  it  shall  be  found,  there- 
fore, that  the  principles  which  have  hitherto 
guided  us  enable  us  to  penetrate  to  the  core 
of  this  mystery,  and  evolve  a  meaning  in- 
telligible and  reasonable,  and  which,  while 
interpreting  all  the  details  without  distor- 
tion or  suppression,  is  in  harmony  at  the 
same  time  with  the  Scriptures  in  general 
and  with  the  purpose  for  which  they  have 
been  revealed,  then  we  may  indulge  the 
hope  that  these  principles  are  correct  and 

may  advance  with  some  confidence  to  the 

Y7 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

problems  that  still  lie  before  us.  Though 
long  tunnels  are  yet  to  be  threaded,  with 
only  brief  intervals  between  them  of  open 
air,  we  shall  in  time,  perhaps,  reach  the 
light  of  day  and  rest  in  the  sunshine  of  dis- 
covered truth. 

It  has  been  already  said  that  through  the 
vast  space  that  intervenes  between  the  di- 
vine Being  and  man  two  great  lines  of 
communication  stretch.  These  are  his 
works  and  his  word.  It  is  this  truth  which 
the  trumpets  symbolize,  and  we  have  not 
yet  gotten  beyond  the  section  of  the  Reve- 
lation in  which  this  emblem  of  the  trumpets 
is  the  ruling  one.  Six  of  the  trumpets  have 
sounded.  Whatever  can  be  done  by  natu- 
ral providences  to  arouse  men  to  spiritual 
thought  and  action  has  been  sounded  by 
them.  Nature  has  no  other  voices  with 
which  to  speak  to  mankind.  But  the  re- 
sources of  Omnipotence  are  not  exhausted. 
God  has  yet  other  means  of  approach  to  his 
creatures.  And  if,  therefore,  because  of 
heedlessness  or  obduracy  or  preoccupation 
of  mind  or  absorption  in  temporal  things, 
one  of  these  lines  of  light  from  God's  mercy 
falls  with  too  light  a  touch  to  arrest  men's 
attention  or  awaken  them  to  danger  or  win 

78 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

their  consent  to  seek  God's  favor,  there  re- 
mains another  and  more  efficient  one, 
namely,  his  written  word ;  and  here  is  the 
place  where  we  should  expect  allusion  to  it. 

The  two  witnesses,  then,  may  be  reason- 
ably interpreted  as  signifying  the  latv  and 
the  prophets,  the  titles  under  which  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  received  by  John  as 
divinely  inspired  were  almost  universally 
designated.  Should  these  fail  of  their  pur- 
pose, even  the  divine  Being,  w^e  may  rever- 
ently say,  had  no  other  way  of  reaching 
man.  It  is  our  Lord  himself  who  says,'*  If 
they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets, 
neither  will  they  be  persuaded  though  one 
rose  from  the  dead."  When  the  great  and 
strong  wind  rending  the  mountains,  and 
after  this  the  earthquake,  and  after  this  the 
fire,  have  failed,  it  is  possible  that  the  still 
small  voice  v\dll  arouse  to  faith  and  hope  and 
duty.  Should  it  not  do  so,  then  the  case  is 
hopeless. 

In  order  to  verify  the  solution  which  is 
here  proposed  of  the  episode  of  the  two  wit- 
nesses, a  careful  examination  will  be  made 
of  the  facts  as  detailed  in  the  text. 

The  introduction  of  the  two  witnesses, 
however,  is  preceded  b}-  tvv'o  visions  by  way 

79 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

of  prelude.  This,  we  shall  find,  is  what  we 
might  reasonably  expect.  If  the  witnesses 
are,  indeed,  symbols  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures, God's  direct  revelation  of  his  will  and 
character  to  men,  it  is  proper  that  the  scope 
and  purpose  of  all  revelation  shall  be  plainly 
laid  down,  that  we  may  know  how  far  the 
revealed  word  of  God  is  to  be  regarded  as 
evidence,  and  also  that  some  criteria  shall 
be  given  by  which  we  shall  be  able  to  dis- 
cern what  the  inspired  writings  are,  and  how 
to  differentiate  them  from  human  produc- 
tions. In  other  words,  we  have  here  from 
the  pen  of  John  his  own  views  of  biblical 
criticism,  and  it  would  have  been  well  if 
they  had  been  more  carefully  heeded  in  the 
discussions  of  inspiration  recently  so  rife. 

In  the  first  of  these  two  visions  a  "  mighty 
angel "  is  seen  to  ' '  come  down  from  heaven, 
clothed  with  a  cloud  "  and  with  '*a  rainbow 
upon  his  head."  And  he  had  in  his  hand 
a  little  book  open.  But,  when  ' '  seven  thun- 
ders had  uttered  their  voices  "  and  John  was 
''about  to  write,"  a  voice  was  heard  from 
heaven  saying,  ' '  Seal  up  those  things  which 
the  seven  thunders  uttered,  and  write  them 
not."  This  prohibition  is  distinctly  declared 
to  be  only  for  a  time.     "  In  the  days  of  the 

80 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

voice  of  the  seventh  angel,  when  he  shall 
begin  to  sound,  the  mystery  of  God  should 
be  finished,  as  he  hath  declared  unto  his 
servants  the  prophets." 

If  the  interpretation  put  upon  the  two 
witnesses  is  correct,  and  if  they  symbolize 
the  Scriptures,  then  the  purpose  of  this  pre- 
lude is  to  indicate  what  we  are  to  look  for 
in  them.  It  is  not  the  design  of  the  Bible 
to  communicate  all  possible  truth,  but  only 
such  measure  of  it  as  has  reference  to  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  Although  the  things 
which  are  revealed  belong  to  us  and  to  our 
children,  there  are  still  secret  things  which 
belong  to  the  Lord  our  God.  He  has  com- 
municated much,  but  he  has  withheld  much, 
and  doubtless  the  reasons  for  the  revelation 
and  the  reserve  are  equally  wise.  There 
are  truths  which  man's  own  powers  enable 
him  to  discover.  There  are  other  truths 
beyond  his  ability  to  comprehend  even 
should  they  be  revealed.  These  are  excluded 
from  the  Scriptures  as  being  aside  from  their 
purpose.  It  is  only  ''when  that  which  is 
perfect  is  come,"  and  '*  that  which  is  in  part 
shall  be  done  away,"  that  we  shall  know  as 
we  are  known.  Very  much  that  we  know 
not  now  we  shall  know  hereafter.     But  the 

G  81 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Bible  lias  specific  reference  to  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  and  reveals  only  what  has  relation 
to  that  kingdom.  ' '  The  testimony  of  Jesus  " 
is  the  spirit  of  all  prophecy.  That  which 
lies  within  the  capacity  of  man  to  discover 
is  left  to  the  wisdom  and  patience  of  men. 
That  which  pertains  to  the  future  life,  and 
would  simply  satisfy  curiosity  to  know,  is 
reserved  to  the  time  when  we  shall  have 
laid  aside  mortality.  The  Scriptures  reveal 
to  us  only  what  it  is  needful  for  us  to  know 
that  we  may  enter  and  enjoy  and  forward 
the  kingom  of  Christ.  Paul  was  not  allowed 
to  utter  the  words  he  had  heard  in  his 
heavenly  ecstasy,  and  John  is  likewise  pro- 
hibited from  uttering  things  which  belong 
solely  to  the  divine  Being  and  await  his 
pleasure  to  publish.  It  was  sufficient  for 
him  to  be  told  that,  however  bitter  and  un- 
palatable his  message  might  be,  he  must  still 
' '  prophesy  before  many  peoples,  and  na- 
tions, and  tongues,  and  kings." 

The  second  prelude  also  has  reference 
to  the  limitations  within  which  all  revela- 
tion is  confined.  ''There  was  given  me  a 
reed  like  unto  a  rod :  and  the  angel  stood, 
saying.  Rise,  and  measure  the  temple  of 
God,  and  the  altar,  and   them  that  worship 

82 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

therein.  But  the  court  which  is  without 
the  temple  leave  out,  and  measure  it  not ; 
for  it  is  given  unto  the  Gentiles :  and  the 
holy  city  shall  they  tread  under  foot  forty 
and  two  months." 

There  are  two  elements  in  this  which 
furnish  guides  to  its  interpretation.  One 
is  the  distinction  so  emphatically  made 
between  the  temple  itself,  which,  as  we 
know,  was  reserved  exclusively  for  Israel- 
ites, and  the  outer  courts,  which  were  given 
to  the  Gentiles.  The  other  is  the  use  of 
the  symbolical  number  forty-two. 

Now  is  it  not  a  reasonable  thing  that  the 
apostle,  when  about  to  point  us  to  the  law 
and  the  prophets  as  God's  two  witnesses, 
shall  put  a  broad  distinction  between  them 
and  all  mere  human  productions?  The 
temple  itself  is  the  field  within  which  they 
fulfill  their  office,  and  those  only  who  speak 
from  it  are  God's  accredited  messengers.  If 
the  Scriptures  are  the  standard  by  which 
truth  concerning  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is 
to  be  tested,  if  they  have  authority  to  bind 
the  consciences  of  men,  there  must  be  some 
criterion  by  which  they  shall  be  judged. 
And  this  is  the  criterion — **  Salvation  is  of 
the    Jews."      God's    messengers    and   wit- 

83 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

nesses  sprang  from  them.  And  Paul  con- 
firms this  declaration  when  he  says  that  the 
chief  advantage  v^^hich  the  Jews  had  was 
that  * '  unto  them  were  committed  the  oracles 
of  God."  The  highest  creations  of  human 
genius  fall  short  of  the  special  inspiration 
which  belonged  to  the  prophets  and  patri- 
archs and  apostles  of  Israel.  The  outer 
courts,  indeed,  were  given  to  the  Gentiles. 
Theirs  was  the  world  of  art,  of  science,  of 
commerce,  of  literature,  of  politics,  of 
earthly  dominion ;  but  the  temple  and  the 
altar  belonged  to  the  chosen  race.  Brilliant 
stars  brightened  the  darkness  of  the  Gentile 
sky,  but  the  sun  of  spiritual  truth  shone 
only  to  the  teachers  whom  God  called  out 
of  Israel ;  and  Homer  and  ^schylus,  and 
muse  and  sibyl,  must ''  pale  their  ineffectual 
fires "  in  the  presence  of  his  seers  and 
anointed  ones.  And  this  is  confirmed  by 
the  use  of  the  symbolical  number  forty-two. 
This  number,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  Intro- 
duction, typifies  a  period  which  has  definite 
limits  and  fulfills  a  specific  purpose.  It 
may  designate  Judaism  proper  or  Gentilism 
proper.  And  the  meaning  here  is  that  now, 
and  throughout  this  present  cycle  of  time, 
the  kingdom  of  God    has  been  taken  from 

84 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

the  Jew  and  given  to  a  nation  bringing 
forth  the  fruits  of  the  kingdom.  Neither 
the  temple,  nor  the  altar,  nor  the  inspired 
Scriptures  belong  now  exclusively  to  the 
Jew.  The  chosen  race  has  forfeited  its  pre- 
roofative  of  exclusiveness,  and  the  foot  of  the 
Gentile  treads  the  inner  as  well  as  outer 
court.  The  Bible  belongs  to  us  as  well  as 
to  Israel. 

With  these  important  and  interesting 
preludes  explained,  and  the  reason  of  their 
introduction  in  this  place  accounted  for,  we 
are  prepared  to  investigate  the  vision  of 
the  two  witnesses. 

It  has  already  been  said,  but  the  impor- 
tance of  the  matter  requires  its  repetition, 
that  the  paragraph  containing  the  vision  of 
the  witnesses  is  a  part  of  the  section  of  the 
Revelation  of  which  the  trumpet  is  the  rul- 
ing symbol ;  for  it  is  not  until  the  close  of 
this  paragraph  that  the  seventh  trumpet 
sounds.  It  seems,  therefore,  plausible  that 
what  is  symbolized  by  the  witnesses  has 
some  continuous  connection  with  that  which 
is  designated  by  the  trumpets.  And,  inas- 
much as  the  trumpets  are  emblems  of  the 
instrumentalities  which  the  divine  Being 
employs  to  call  men  to  repentance,  obedi- 

85 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

ence,  and  the  service  of  himself,  the  wit- 
nesses are  an  emblem  of  some  such  instru- 
mentality, having  the  same  end  in  view, 
but.  operating  in  a  different  mode.  The  six 
trumpets  which  have  already  sounded  repre- 
sent what  the  divine  Being  does  by  way  of 
natural  providence,  approaching  men  by 
calamities,  distresses,  the  observed  connec- 
tion between  impiety  and  moral,  as  well  as 
intellectual,  decadence,  and  such  like  means. 
But  nature  in  any  and  all  of  its  modes  of 
manifestation  does  not  comprise  all  the 
modes  of  communication  between  God  and 
man.  Nor  is  the  testimony  which  it  bears 
to  God  the  highest  testimony.  The  same 
Being  who  * '  formeth  the  mountains,  and 
createth  the  wind,"  who  *'maketh  the 
morning  darkness,  and  treadeth  upon  the 
high  places  of  the  earth,"  also  ''declareth 
unto  man  what  is  his  thought."  ''The 
heavens,"  indeed,  ''declare  the  glory  of  God  ; 
and  the  firmament  showeth  his  handiwork." 
But  the  law  of  God  does  more.  It  convert- 
eth  the  soul.  Nature's  witness  is  given  by 
dumb  signs  or  inarticulate  sounds.  It  has 
no  speech  nor  language.  Its  worshipers 
may  cry  aloud  to  their  Baal  from  morning 
until  the  time  of  the  evening  sacrifice,  but 

80 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

there  is  none  to  hear,  nor  any  God  that  re- 
gards. It  is  to  and  through  the  human 
spirit  that  the  divine  Spirit  must  communi- 
cate his  deepest  truths ;  nor  has  he  done  all 
that  may  be  done  until  he  has  given  to  men 
his  word.  ''The  grass  withereth,  the 
flower  fadeth;  but  the  word  of  our  God 
shall  stand  forever." 

The  two  witnesses,  human  and  intelli- 
gent, aptly  and  appropriately  represent  this 
higher  mode  of  communication  which  God 
employs  to  impress  and  teach  men.  By 
them  we  are  to  understand  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  the  two  component  parts  of  the 
Old  Testament  Scriptures,  which  at  the  date 
of  the  Apocalypse  constituted  the  only  ca- 
nonical Scriptures  known.  In  the  para- 
graph which  follows  there  is  an  intimation 
of  the  New  Testament ;  but  as  yet  it  was 
not  in  existence  as  a  collected  code.  The 
Bible  which  Christ  and  his  apostles  knew 
was  the  Jewish  Bible. 

The  proof  of  this  somewhat  novel  inter- 
pretation of  the  two  witnesses,  if,  indeed, 
any  interpretation  of  any  part  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse can  be  called  novel,  lies  in  the  fact 
that  it  explains  all  the  details  of  the  vision 
which   are  presented  to  us  simply,   easily, 

8t 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

and  without  any  forced  construction.  It  is 
essential  to  group  together  the  separate  de- 
tails, and  then  endeavor  to  explain  them. 

The  seer  says  of  these  two  witnesses  that 
they  prophesy  in  sackcloth  twelve  hundred 
and  sixty  days,  which,  as  has  been  said  in 
discussing  rules  of  interpretation,  is  one  of 
the  numbers  symbolical  of  Judaism ;  they 
are  identified  as  corresponding  with  the 
"  two  sons  of  oil,  that  stand  by  the  Lord  of 
the  whole  earth,"  of  whom  Zechariah  wrote 
(Revised  Version);  they  have  power  to  de- 
vour their  enemies  and  shut  heaven  by  the 
miracles  of  withholding  the  rain,  turning 
waters  to  blood,  and  smiting  the  earth  with 
plagues.  There  is  a  period  when  their  ' '  tes- 
timony "  is  finished.  When  that  period  is 
reached  their  enemy,  the  beast  from  the 
bottomless  pit,  kills  them,  and  their  dead 
bodies  lie  exposed  for  three  and  a  half  da3^s 
*'in  the  street  of  the  great  city,  which 
spiritually  is  called  vSodom  and  Egypt,  where 
also  our  Lord  was  crucified."  At  the  end  of 
this  period  *'the  Spirit  of  life  entered  into 
them,  and  they  stood  upon  their  feet  ;  "  and 
they  finally  "■  ascended  up  to  heaven  "  amid 
convulsions  which  shake  the  earth  and  fill 
men  with  terror. 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

How  accurately  all  these  features  of  the 
paragraph  find  their  fulfillment  in  the  law 
and  the  prophets,  or  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures,  may  be  readily  shown : 

First.  It  is  worthy  of  consideration  as  a 
strong-  point  that  the  expression,  **  the  law 
and  the  prophets  "  (sometimes  **  Moses  and 
the  prophets  "  ),  is  the  one  almost  invariably 
employed  by  our  Lord  in  designating  the 
older  Scriptures  (Matt,  v,  17;  vii,  12;  xi, 
13;  xxii,  40;  Luke  xvi,  31;  xxiv,  27;  as 
also  John  i,  45  ;   Acts  xiii,  15  ;  xxviii,  23). 

Secondly.  The  testimony  of  the  prophets 
and  writers  of  the  Old  Testament  may  be 
truly  said  to  have  been  given  in  sackcloth. 
What  one  of  these  messengers  of  God  ever 
met  with  a  cordial  reception?  Well  did 
Stephen  say,  perhaps  in  the  hearing  of  John 
himself,  ' '  Which  of  the  prophets  have  not 
your  fathers  persecuted?"  ''They  were 
stoned,  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted, 
were  slain  with  the  sword :  they  wandered 
about  in  sheepskins,  and  goatskins;  being 
destitute,  afilicted,  tormented "  (Heb.  xi, 
37;  Luke,  xi,  49-5  0- 

Thirdly.  The  law  and  the  prophets  found 
their  special  embodiments  and  representa- 
tives in  Moses  (John  i,  17)  and  Elijah  (Mai. 

89 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

iv,  4,  5);  one  the  tmeqiialed  statesmen  and 
legislator,  the  other  the  most  striking  and, 
in  many  respects,  the  greatest  of  the  long 
line  of  prophets.  The  miracles  ascribed  to 
the  two  witnesses  were  actually  wrought  by 
these  two  extraordinary  and  typical  men. 
To  Moses  was  given  power  to  turn  waters  to 
blood  and  to  smite  the  earth  with  plagues. 
It  was  at  the  prayer  of  Elijah  that  the 
heaven  was  shut  so  that  it  rained  not  but 
according  to  his  word. 

Fourthly.  Zechariah's  vision  of  the  **  two 
olive  branches  which  through  the  two  golden 
pipes  empty  the  golden  oil  out  of  them- 
selves," and  which  are  said  to  be  "'  the  two 
anointed  ones,  that  stand  by  the  Lord  of  the 
whole  earth,"  finds  its  most  appropriate  and 
exact  fulfillment  in  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
which  testify  of  Jesus  (John  v,  39).  And 
it  was  the  representatives  of  the  law  and 
the  prophets,  or  Moses  and  Elijah,  who  were 
chosen  to  stand  by  our  Lord  when  he  ap- 
peared in  glory  upon  the  Mount  of  Trans- 
figuration. 

Fifthly.  The  **  testimony"  of  the  law  and 
the  prophets  is  distinctly  said  by  our  Lord 
himself  to  have  been  **  finished  "  when  his 
own  forerunner,  John  the  Baptist,  appeared. 

90 


Means  by  which  Advancea 

"  For  all  the  prophets  and  the  law  prophe- 
sied until  John  "  (Matt,  xi,  13);  "  The  law 
and  the  prophets  were  until  John  "  (Luke 
xvi,  16). 

Sixthly.  Although  the  Jews  professedly- 
acknowledged  the  law  and  the  prophets  to 
be  of  divine  origin,  our  Lord  emphatically 
charged  against  them  that  they  had  by  their 
glosses  and  traditions  in  effect  abrogated 
them ;  devitalizing  them  and  making  their 
authority  to  be  a  dead  letter  (Matt,  xv,  6 ; 
Mark  vii,  13;  Ltike  xi,  52). 

Scvc7tthly.  At  no  period  did  this  nullifi- 
cation of  the  power  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
reach  such  extremes  as  during  our  Lord's 
active  ministry  on  earth.  The  dead  bodies 
of  the  law  and  the  prophets  may  be  said, 
without  exaggeration,  to  have  lain  exposed 
in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  where  our  Lord 
was  crucified. 

Eighthly.  The  bodies  of  the  two  witnesses 
are  said  to  have  lain  ' '  three  days  and  a 
half."  As  the  period  of  our  Lord's  active 
ministry  has  been  computed  at  three  and  a 
half  years  the  number  may  refer  to  that. 
But  as  three  and  a  half  is  a  symbolical  num- 
ber, designating  a  half  period,  it  may  be 
tised  to  designate  the  same  here.    The  min- 

91 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

istry  of  our  Lord  was  such  a  half  period, 
which  was  not  completed  until  it  had  been 
supplemented  by  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Ninthly.  After  the  "  three  days  and  a 
half  the  Spirit  of  life  from  God  "  is  vSaid  to 
have  *' entered  into"  the  two  witnesses, 
''and  they  stood  upon  their  feet."  This 
was  remarkably  fulfilled  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  when,  by  the  illumination  and 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  apostles 
were  moved  to  draw  from  the  law  and  the 
prophets  those  convincing  arguments  and 
promises  and  appeals  which  led  to  the  con- 
version of  thousands. 

Tcnthly.  The  two  witnesses  after  their 
resurrection  are  said  to  have  "  ascended  up 
to  heaven  "  in  the  presence  of  their  ene- 
mies. This  finds  its  fulfillment  in  the  fact 
that  the  Hebrew  vScriptures,  with  the  added 
life  given  them  by  the  New  Testament, 
have  been  accepted  by  the  Christian  Church, 
not  as  the  exclusive  property  of  the  Jewish 
Church  or  as  the  archives  of  the  Hebrew 
nation,  but  as  the  common  heritage  of  the 
world  and  the  canonical  word  of  God  to  the 
whole  human  race. 

Lastly,  The  convulsions  of  nature  which 
are  said  to  have  accompanied  the  ascent  of 

92 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

the  witnesses  to  heaven  were  exactly  ful- 
filled, as  John  could  testify,  in  the  events 
that  followed  Pentecost — the  terror  and 
alarm  of  Christ's  enemies,  the  fear  that 
came  upon  all,  the  shaking  as  by  an  earth- 
quake of  the  place  where  the  disciples  were 
assembled  in  prayer,  and  the  rapid  increase 
in  numbers  of  those  who  were  slain  of  the 
Lord  and  raised  to  a  new  spiritual  life. 

If  this  explanation  of  the  episode  of  the 
two  witnesses  is  correct  the  depreciation,  or 
rather,  perhaps,  under-appreciation  of  the 
Old  Testament,  which  exists  even  among 
those  who  do  not  question  its  inspiration,  is 
without  ground  or  reason.  In  the  opinion 
of  St.  John  the  addition  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment does  not  in  any  wise  supersede  or  ren- 
der obsolete  the  older  Scriptures.  In  the 
education  of  the  human  race  the  Creator 
did  not  begin  with  the  more  abstruse  and 
highly  developed  teachings  of  the  New 
Testament,  but  with  the  natural,  biograph- 
ical, historical,  and  providential  facts  of  the 
Old.  With  the  exception  of  the  evangel- 
ical gospels,  which  belong  really  to  both 
dispensations,  since  the  Christ  whose  life 
and  words  and  deeds  are  there  recorded  is 
both  the  consummation  of  the  one  dispen- 

93 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

sation  and  the  seed  and  promise  of  the 
other,  no  part  of  holy  writ  exceeds  in  inter- 
est, attractiveness,  and  simplicity  the  law 
and  the  prophets,  in  which  John  and  Peter 
and  Paul  were  trained. 

The  Old  Testament  contains,  albeit  in 
embryo,  all  doctrines  and  truths  essential 
to  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  If  for  a  while  it 
was  kept  secreted  within  the  bounds  of  Ju- 
daism, this  was  not  because  its  revelations 
were  meant  exclusively  for  the  chosen  peo- 
ple, but  that  its  sacred  treasures  might  be 
o-uarded  from  waste  and  wanton  destruction 
until  the  rest  of  the  world  was  prepared  to 
welcome  them.  If  much  of  its  meaning 
was  misconceived  and  misconstrued  by  the 
Jewish  mind,  this  must  be  attributed  largely 
to  the  frailty  and  ignorance  of  human  na- 
ture. The  New  Testament  does  not  so 
much  add  to  the  Old  Testament  as  illus- 
trate, explain,  and  apply  it.  It  is  the  in- 
terpreter, not  the  destroyer,  of  the  Old.  It 
opens  its  secrets,  brings  to  light  its  truths, 
reveals  to  us  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ  every- 
where in  it,  and  enforces  its  teachings  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  are  the 
imperishable  record  of    the  foundation  of 

94 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

Christ's  kingdom  upon  earth.  Without 
them  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament 
would  be  without  connection  with  that  con- 
tinuous chain  of  inspiration  whose  first  link 
was  forged  wlien  God  said,  ''  Let  there  be 
light."  And,  equally  so,  without  the  New 
Testament  the  Old  would  be  merely  a  foun- 
dation lacking  a  superstructure,  and  thus 
incomplete.  Its  chain  of  inspiration  would 
be  without  any  sure  anchorage  in  the  future 
eternity,  and  thus  hang  helpless  and  use- 
less, with  no  power  to  bridge  the  gulf  be- 
tween the  alpha  and  omega,  the  beginning 
of  time  and  its  end.  But  the  Old  Testament 
can  never  become  obsolete.  Not  one  jot  or 
tittle  of  it  shall  pass  away  until  all  is  ful- 
filled. And  the  revelation  given  in  the 
New  Testament  can  no  more  supersede  or 
abolish  it  than  science  can  supersede  nature, 
of  which  it  is  the  ordained  expositor. 

There  is  a  healthiness,  too,  about  the  Old 
Testament  like  to  the  quiet  restfulness  of 
nature.  When  men  are  disposed  to  wander 
from  the  safe  path  into  the  vagaries  of  mys- 
ticism or  asceticism  nothing  will  correct  the 
aberrance  more  surely  than  diligent  and 
profound  study  of  its  sober  realities  and  its 
everyday  life.     The  reading  of  it  calms  the 

95 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

fevers  and  dispels  the  illusions  to  which  we 
are  prone.  It  brings  to  us  those  soothing  in- 
fluences which  we  feel  when  we  look  at  the 

"  Good  gigantic  smile  of  the  brown  old  earth 
On  autumn  mornings," 

or,  lying  under  forest  shades,  watch  the 
gentle  swaying  of  foliage,  or  listen  to  the 
purling  of  brooks,  or  catch  glimp.ses  of  the 
calm  blue  sky.  We  need  its  concrete  facts 
to  save  us  from  the  abstractions  of  a  vague 
and  unreal  idealism. 

Thus  closes  the  vision  of  the  trumpets. 
They  represent  the  messengers  whom  God 
employs  to  call  men  to  repentance,  the 
methods  he  avails  himself  of  to  forward  the 
kingdom  within  and  without  us.  He  will 
not  cease  to  strive  with  us  until  every  ap- 
peal likely  to  reach  us  has  been  tried. 
When  nature  and  the  supernatural,  the 
word  of  God  in  providence  and  the  richer 
word  of  God  in  revelation,  have  exerted 
their  power  the  resources  of  the  divine 
Being  have  been,  we  may  with  all  rever- 
ence say,  exhausted,  and  the  time  is  ripe 
for  the  closing  of  the  drama  of  probation, 
that  he  which  is  righteous  may  be  righteous 
still,  and  he  which  is  filthy  may  be  filthy 
still. 

96 


Means  by  which  Advanced 

Yet  the  writer  of  the  Revelation  does  not 
allow  us  to  remain  in  doubt  as  to  the  result 
of  God's  efforts  to  save  a  lost  world.  The 
wisdom  of  God  is  not  astray.  ''He  will 
rest  in  his  love."  He  has  himself  absolute 
confidence  in  the  success  of  the  plans  of  re- 
demption. When  the  seventh  and  last  trum- 
pet shall  sound  the  curtain  will  fall  upon  a 
world  restored  to  God,  upon  a  paradise  re- 
gained, and  great  voices  in  heaven  shall 
say,  ' '  The  kingdom^s  of  this  world  are  be- 
come the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his 
Christ;    and   he   shall    reign   forever   and 

ever." 

n  97 


PART  IV 
Zbc  ifocs  of  tbe  TRtttflbom 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

PART  IV 
The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

With  chapter  xii  another  section  of  the 
Apocalypse  begins.  Two  great  truths  re- 
lating to  the  kingdom  of  Christ  have  been 
discussed — the  fundamental  principle  of 
mediatorial  sovereignty  upon  which  it  is 
based,  and  the  instruments,  providence  and 
the  written  word,  by  which  it  is  advanced. 
It  follows  very  naturally  and  logically  that 
the  antagonists  by  whom  the  kingdom  is 
opposed  should  also  be  disclosed  to  us. 
Out  of  his  abundant  grace  and  in  tender 
compassion  for  human  ignorance,  God  has 
made  known  to  us,  through  this  marvelous 
book,  tlie  adversaries  with  whom  we  must 
contend  before  the  kingdom  can  attain  its 
consummation  in  our  hearts  or  in  the  world 
at  large. 

While  no  part  of  the  Revelation  is  easy 
of  interpretation,  or  can  be  made  intelligi- 
ble without  very  careful  study  both  of  itself 
and  of  the  whole  Bible,  there  has  been 
added  to  this  part  of  it  the  embarrassment 
of  the  odium  theologicum.  Bitter  controver- 
sial strifes  have  raged  around  the  interpre- 

101 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

tation  of  it  and  have  raised  a  cloud  of 
prejudices,  through  which  the  truth  lias 
been  sometimes  dimly  seen.  From  all  such 
prejudices  we  must  free  ourselves.  We  are 
approaching  holy  ground,  and  it  behooves 
us  to  put  off  our  shoes,  that  nothing  of 
human  invention  may  intervene  between 
our  naked  feet  and  the  sacred  floor  of  God's 
temple. 

We  need  this  caution  the  more  because 
from  the  nature  of  the  case  the  interpreta- 
tion of  this  part  carries  us  more  or  less  into 
the  field  of  liistory.  The  foes  of  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  are  visible  foes,  as  well  as  invis- 
ible. The  contest  is  not  only  for  the  indi- 
vidual man,  but  for  the  race.  The  commis- 
sion given  to  the  Church  is,  ''Go,  preach 
my  Gospel  to  every  creature  ;"  and  the  key- 
note of  the  song  of  triumph  with  which  the 
last  part  closed  was,  "  The  kingdoms  of  this 
world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord, 
and  of  his  Christ." 

There  is,  therefore,  a  tendency  to  confine 
the  interpretation  to  the  field  of  history,  to 
direct  the  attention  to  large  and  collective 
bodies  of  men,  either  world  powers  or  re- 
ligious societies,  or  to  those  historical  events 
and  cycles  of  events  which  have  apparently 

102 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

changed  the  currents  of  the  ages,  and  to 
insist  that  in  these  the  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecy  lies. 

But  history  itself  is  only  the  record  of  in- 
dividuals. We  delude  ourselves  when  we 
fancy  that  by  association  anything  is  cre- 
ated. That  mystical  something  which  is 
imagined  to  be  in  collective  bodies  more 
than  in  the  individuals  that  compose  them  is 
a  mere  figment  of  the  brain,  and  to  discuss 
it  is  simply  to  revive  the  barren  conceits  of 
the  schoolmen.  A  Church  is  only  "  a  con- 
gregation of  believing  men;  "  a  State  is  a 
cooperative  association  of  individuals,  not  a 
corporation  ;  and  neither  one  has  any  powers 
or  forces  other  than  those  which  exist  in  the 
individual  members.  Man  is  both  the  mi- 
crocosm and  the  macrocosm. 

The  chief  value  of  the  inspired  book 
which  we  are  now  studying  lies  in  the  fact 
that  it  discloses  to  us  those  forces,  spiritual 
and  otherwise,  the  conflict  between  which 
makes  up  the  life  history  of  each  indi- 
vidual of  mankind.  It  is  a  chart  meant 
for  every  navigator  of  this  boundless  ocean 
of  human  existence.  Its  truths  will  be  as 
precious  and  important  to  the  last  man  on 
this  globe  as  they  are  to  us.     The  reefs  and 

103 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

breakers  it  describes  are  not  perils  past  ^Yhicll 
any  age  can  sail  and  then  look  back  upon 
as  things  done  with,  but  dangers  which 
beset  every  voyager.  It  is  true  that  in  the 
history  of  large  bodies  of  men,  whether 
secular  or  religious  in  their  character — in 
the  temptations,  declension,  growth,  and 
triumph  of  nations  and  Churches — illustra- 
tions of  its  truths  and  fulfillments  of  its  pre- 
dictions will  be  found.  But  these,  we  must 
insist,  are  merely  illustrations.  Long  as  the 
world  shall  last  the  Apocalyse  will  prove  it- 
self to  be  a  part  of  God's  boon  of  revelation, 
in  that  each  follower  of  Christ  shall  find  it 
of  inestimable  value  for  his  own  private 
guidance,  inspiration,  and  study. 

Looking  by  the  light  of  God's  lamp 
through  the  ages  to  come,  John  was  allowed 
to  foresee  the  successful  completion  of  the 
lifework  and  plans  of  Jesus  the  Saviour. 
He  who  began  both  his  gospel  and  his  great 
epistle  with  ' '  the  beginning  "  also  follows 
the  course  of  the  drama  of  redemption  to 
its  final  ''  amen."  The  saint  who,  leaning 
on  the  bosom  of  Jesus,  looked  up  to  him  as 
the  Author  of  his  faith  was  also  permitted 
to  fall  at  his  majestic  feet  and  worship  him 
as  its  Finisher.     And,  from  personal  com- 

104 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

miinion  with  and  contemplation  of  him  as 
the  Son  of  man,  he  rose  to  the  grander  con- 
ception of  liim  as  tlie  Christ,  the  Word  of 
God,  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords.  He 
was  taught,  also,  that  the  progress  through 
which  his  own  conceptions  of  the  Son  of 
God  had  passed  was  but  a  type  and  example 
of  that  which  shall  take  place  in  time  on  the 
field  of  the  world  and  in  the  hearts  of  man- 
kind. The  cross  upon  which  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth suffered  was,  indeed,  a  throne  from 
which  he  ascended  to  the  crown  of  the  uni- 
verse. But  John,  too,  saw  that  ere  that 
final  consummation  can  be  reached  there 
are  foes  to  be  encountered,  hindrances  to  be 
removed,  antagonists  to  be  overthrown.  A 
great  and  effectual  door  is  opened  unto  us, 
but  there  are  many  adversaries.  To  the 
consideration  of  these  he  therefore  now  calls 
our  attention : 

I .  The  Dragon,  or  Satan, — The  first  of  the 
adversaries  with  whom  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  has  to  dispute  supremacy  is  the  devil, 
the  archfiend  and  enemy  of  God  and  man. 

That  Satan,  the  evil  one,  is  referred  to  in 
the  description  of  the  great  red  dragon  hav- 
ing seven  heads,  ten  horns,  and  seven  dia- 
dems seems  an  interpretation  so  natural  that 

105 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  seek  for  far- 
fetched meanings  when  so  plausible  an  ex- 
planation lies  near  at  hand.  The  ten  horns 
(Zechariah  saw  but  four — Zech.  i,  i8)  are 
the  instruments  with  which  he  seeks  to  scat- 
ter and  destroy  the  sheep  of  God.  The 
seven  heads  with  diadems  represent  the 
pride  and  haughtiness  of  spirit  in  which  he 
boasts  that  the  power  and  glory  of  all  king- 
doms have  been  delivered  to  him  and  that 
he  gives  them  to  w^hom  he  will.  It  is  a 
straggle  for  life  and  death  between  him  and 
the  Christ.  If  Paul,  the  man  of  affairs, 
with  his  practical  conception  of  things  in 
their  concrete  relations,  says,  ' '  Our  wrest- 
ling is  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but 
against  the  principalities,  against  the  pow- 
ers, against  the  world-rulers  of  this  dark- 
ness, against  the  spiritual  hosts  of  wicked- 
ness in  the  heavenly  places"  (Revised  Ver- 
wsion),  much  more  strongly  does  John,  with 
his  intuition  of  abstract  principles,  recognize 
and  emphasize  the  power  and  working  of 
the  dark  spirit  whose  names  are  Satan  and 
'*  destroyer."  No  writer  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment speaks  oftener  or  more  clearly  of  the 
evil  spirit  than  does  John.  In  vivid  imagery 
and  with  graphic  condensation  he  sums  up 

106 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  the 
long  record  of  Satan's  undying  antagonism 
to  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

The  woman  arrayed  "  with  the  smi,  and 
the  moon  tinder  her  feet,  and  upon  her  head 
a  crown  of  twelve  stars  "  (see  Gen.  xxxvii, 
9),  represents  the  Church  collectively  and  in 
its  most  general  expression ;  primarily,  the 
Jewish  Church,  inasmuch  as  Christianity 
had  just  begun  its  mission;  but  not  confined 
thereto.  Against  the  Church,  against  every 
individual  of  it,  this  murderer  and  liar  from 
the  beginning  wages  relentless  warfare. 
His  is  the  povs^er  behind  all  other  antago- 
nisms. To  devour  the  child  of  the  woman 
in  the  hour  of  its  birth,  to  destroy  humanity 
itself  if  he  can,  seems  to  be  the  aim  of  his 
being.  Not  a  soul  is  noAv  born  into  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  by  regenerating  grace 
but  Satan  is  there  to  crush  the  newly-given 
life,  if  possible,  in  its  inception. 

When  the   first   gospel  of  salvation  and 

victory  was  given  to   Eve,  "  Thy  seed  shall 

bruise    the    serpent's   head,"    Satan   began 

his  machinations    to   defeat  the  prophecy, 

even  though  he  knew  that  he  could  do  no 

more  than  bruise  the  heel  of  the  promised 

seed. 

lOV 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

When  the  promise  given  to  Abrahani  of 
a  posterity  countless  as  the  stars  of  heaven 
was  about  to  receive  its  fulfillment  in  the 
extraordinary  fertility  of  the  sons  of  Jacob 
in  Eg3^pt,  it  was  Satan  who  inspired  Pha- 
raoh to  issue  the  cruel  edict  commanding 
the  death  of  every  Hebrew  male  child. 

When  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of 
Judea  it  was  the  same  dragon  that  urged 
Herod  to  his  mad  purpose  of  slaying  every 
young  child  throughout  its  coasts.  ' '  This 
is  the  heir  ;  let  us  kill  him,  that  the  inher- 
itance may  be  ours." 

And  it  is  against  this  wily  foe,  * '  the  prince 
of  the  power  of  the  air,"  ' '  the  spirit  that  now 
worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience," 
that  we  all  have  continually  to  struggle. 

For  protection  against  such  an  adversary 
there  is  certainly  need  of  divine  aid.  And 
that  help  has  never  been  withheld.  '  '■  There 
were  given  to  the  woman  the  tv/o  wings  of 
aofreateaofle."  Is  not  this  an  echo  of  Exod. 
xix,  4,  '*  I  bare  you  on  eagles'  wings,"  and 
also  of  Psalm  xci,  4,  "  And  under  his  wings 
shalt  thou  trust  "  ?  And  in  addition  to  this 
we  are  told  that  God  prepared  *'  a  place  "  in 
the  wilderness  where  the  woman  might  fly 
and  be  nourished.     Does  not  this  refer  to 

108 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

Palestine,  that  quiet,  secluded  land,  nigh  the 
great  highways  of  the  world  and  yet  aloof 
from  them,  where  in  comparative  isolation 
Israel  might  develop  her  own  resources  and 
grow  in  strength  until  she  should  be  ready 
for  her  broader  mission  ?  If  the  purpose  of 
the  divine  Being  fell  short  of  full  realization 
the  fault  was  not  his,  but  hers,  through  her 
lust  to  be  like  the  surrounding  nations. 

The  numbers,  too,  representing  the  period 
of  this  seclusion,  * '  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
days,"  and  "a  time,  tim.es,  and  half  a 
time,"  are  forms  of  three  and  a  half,  which, 
as  has  been  said  in  the  Introduction,  sym- 
bolizes Judaism,  or  any  cycle  wath  a  definite 
purpose  which  is,  however,  only  a  half 
period. 

And  further  confirmation  of  the  reference 
to  the  Church  of  Israel  is  found  in  the  allu- 
sion to  the  archangel  Michael,  who  is  always 
represented  in  the  Scriptures  as  sustaining 
some  special  relation  to  Israel  (Dan.  x,  21 ; 
xii,  i). 

Yet,  mighty  as  vSatan  is  and  venomous  as 
is  his  hostility,  the  believer  is  endowed  with 
weapons  of  offense  and  defense  still  more 
potent.  ' '  They  overcame  him  by  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  their  tes- 

109 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

timony "  (or  ''witness"  with  reference, 
doubtless,  to  the  testimony  of  the  two  wit- 
nesses of  the  preceding  chapter).  In  other 
w^ords,  the  cross  of  Christ  and  the  word  of 
God  are  the  conquering  weapons  wntli  which 
believers  win  the  victory  over  Satan.  The 
Lord  Jesus  had  most  plainly  foretold  the 
secret  of  victory  in  the  hearing  of  John 
when  lie  had  said,  '  *  Now  is  the  judgment 
of  this  world :  now  shall  the  prince  of  this 
world  be  cast  out.  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up 
from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me." 
And,  doubtless,  these  words  came  with  full- 
ness and  force  to  the  memory  of  the  apostle 
when  he  heard  the  ' '  loud  voice  saying  in 
heaven,  Now  is  come  salvation  and  strength, 
and  the  kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the  power 
of  his  Christ :  for  the  accuser  of  our  brethren 
is  cast  down." 

Not  yet,  however,  is  Satan  ready  to  cease 
his  efforts  to  destroy.  He  changes  the  field 
of  conflict,  but  does  not  relinquish  the 
malice  of  his  assault.  If  he  cannot  in 
heaven,  that  is,  the  Church,  countervail  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  he  will  attempt  it  in  the 
earth,  on  the  field  of  secular  life.  ' '  The 
serpent  cast  out  of  his   mouth   water  as  a 

flood,    after    the  woman:    that   he    might 
no 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

cause  her  to  be  carried  away  of  the  flood." 
There  is,  perhaps,  a  reference  here  to 
Isa.  lix,  19:  "When  tlie  enemy  shall 
come  in  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
shall  lift  up  a  standard  against  him."  Look- 
ing back  at  that  chapter,  we  shall  find  that 
the  flood  spoken  of  means  an  unusual  in- 
crease of  social  disorders  and  crimes.  That 
is  most  probably  the  meaning  here.  Satan 
is  the  foe  alike  of  God  and  man.  His  en- 
mity is  directed  as  much  against  all  order 
and  morality  as  against  goodness  and  right- 
eousness. He  is  that  ''lawless  one"  of 
whom  Paul  speaks  in  2  Thess.  ii,  3  (Re- 
vised Version).  If  he  were  allowed  to  carry 
out  his  will  he  would  subvert  all  govern- 
ment, spiritual  or  secular.  But,  says  the 
apostle  and  seer,  ' '  The  earth  helped  the 
woman."  For  its  own  protection  and  ex- 
istence the  State  must  execute  laws,  must 
preserve  order,  and  must  secure  itself 
against  anarchy  and  unbridled  libertinism  ; 
and,  in  so  far  as  it  guards  social  morality,  it 
fosters  spiritual  prosperity.  In  restraining 
crime  and  violence  it  must  needs  allow  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  opportunit}'  to  grow. 
Foiled  thus  again,  Satan  does  not  abandon 

the  conflict,  but  resorts  to  other  and  more 
111 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

wily  means  to  make  war  with  the  "  rem- 
nant "  of  the  woman's  seed  ''  whicli  keep  the 
commandments  of  God,  and  have  the  tes- 
timony of  Jesus  Christ;"  and  the  history 
of  these  efforts  must  next  engage  our  at- 
tention. 

2.  The  First  Wild  Beast,  or  the  Spirit  of 
Worldliness. — In  the  chapter  of  the  Revela- 
tion which  precedes  the  appearance  of  the 
beasts  (Rev.  xii,  12)  the  warning  had  been 
given,  ''  Woe  to  the  inhabiters  of  the  earth 
and  of  the  sea !  for  the  devil  is  come  down 
unto  you,  having  great  wrath."  We  are 
now  to  witness  the  fulfillment  of  this  warn- 
ing. The  apostle  saw  two  wild  beasts  rise, 
one  from  the  sea,  the  other  from  the  land, 
both  of  them  formidable  foes  and  intense  in 
their  hostility  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
There  can  hardly  be  a  question  but  that 
these  are  intended  to  represent  the  means 
by  which  Satan,  thwarted  in  his  direct  as- 
saults, endeavors  to  carry  on  his  warfare. 
And  just  as  Christ,  in  carrying  forward  his 
mediatorial  kingdom,  makes  use  of  the  two 
instrumentalities,  providence  and  the  writ- 
ten word,  so  also,  in  imitation  of  him,  his 
fierce  antagonist  has  his  two  emissaries  and 

agents.     We   shall   find  as  we   study  this 
112 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

part  of  the  Revelation  that  one  of  the  most 
deceptive  and  dangerous  arts  which  Satan 
employs  is  his  manner  of  counterfeiting  the 
form  and  aping  the  methods  of  Christ,  in 
hope  that  he  may  thereby  delude  the  unsus- 
pecting or  heedless.  We  ought,  therefore, 
very  carefully  to  note  every  feature,  that  we 
may  be  able  to  detect  these  dangerous  in- 
carnations of  the  spirit  of  evil,  and  thus 
escape  his  snares. 

The  first  wild  beast  of  John's  vision  rose 
from  the  sea — an  expression  which,  when 
used  symbolically,  designates  the  secular  or 
temporal  world,  in  antithesis  to  the  Church. 
His  distinctive  characteristics  are  intense 
pride,  the  possession  of  vast  power,  strong 
vitality  enabling  him  to  recover  speedily 
from  severe  injuries,  insatiable  craving  after 
homage  and  ability  to  secure  it,  outrageous 
blasphem}^  and  undisguised  as  well  as  un- 
ceasing hostility  to  Christ  and  his  saints. 
It  is  a  mooted  question  whether  by  this 
beast  John  meant  to  describe  and  foretell 
the  coming  of  some  individual  person  or 
some  organization  of  men,  secular  or  reli- 
gious. State  or  Church  ;  or  whether  the  char- 
acteristics he  portrays  are  intended  to  repre- 
sent some  principle  of  evil,  always  at  work, 

8  113 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

mightier  and  more  enduring  than  any  or- 
ganization of  men,  whicli  manifests  itself 
in  various  forms  and  at  all  times,  but  tran- 
scends all  its  manifestations,  and  against 
which,  because  it  is  one  of  Satan's  most  suc- 
cessful means  of  antagonism,  every  Christian 
must  keep  perpetual  watch. 

The  latter  of  these  hypotheses  seems  to 
be  more  in  keeping  with  the  cast  of  John's 
strongly  idealistic  and  abstract  mind,  and 
also  with  the  purpose  of  the  Apocalypse  as 
intended  for  the  edifying  of  believers. 
And  furthermore,  as  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
not  something  that  cometh  ' '  with  observa- 
tion," so  that  men  can  say  of  it,  '^  Lo  here ! 
or,  lo  there!"  but  is  something  *' within" 
us,  so  its  opponent  is  not  to  be  sought  in 
any  particular  organization  or  special  event 
or  single  individual,  but  rather  in  some  ab- 
stract principle,  all  the  more  dangerous  be- 
cause it  exists  separate  and  distinct  from 
these. 

In  his  description  of  this  wild  beast  John 
draws  his  data  from  the  prophecy  of  Daniel ; 
and  a  study  of  that  book  will  aid  in  the 
elucidation  of  this.  It  is,  indeed,  true  that 
in  the  mind  of  Daniel  the  antagonists  and 
allies  of  God  alike  assumed  the  form  of  king- 

114 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

doms,  or  world  powers.  But  this  resulted 
from  the  fact  that  his  cast  of  mind  was  es- 
sentially concrete,  and  also  because  as  a 
statesman  and  man  of  affairs,  charged  with 
the  administration  of  finances  and  politics, 
accustomed  to  the  handling  of  men  in  col- 
lective bodies  and  to  deal  with  matters  af- 
fecting their  external  relations,  his  concep- 
tions of  religion  regarded  rather  its  outward 
manifestations  than  its  inward  power.  We 
are  not,  however,  compelled  to  believe  that 
John,  while  using  the  prophecies  of  Daniel 
as  his  basis,  was  limited  to  the  conceptions 
of  the  older  prophet.  He  had  a  better  key 
to  the  hieroglyphics  of  the  kingdom  and 
could  read  their  meaning  more  clearly.  Be- 
hind the  forces  which  play  their  part  upon 
the  world's  stage  he  could  recognize  the 
spiritual  principles  of  which  they  were  in- 
carnations. 

The  world  power  which  loomed  largest  to 
the  mind  of  Daniel,  and  whose  hostility  to 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  was  most  dreaded  by 
him,  was  one  that  sprang  up  after  the  death 
and  among  the  successors  of  Alexander  the 
Great.  That  extraordinary  captain  and 
gifted  statesman,  the  first  ruler  who  grasped 
the  conception  of  the  essential  unity  of  man- 

llo 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

kind  and  who  strove  to  realize  it  by  the  fu- 
sion of  races  into  one  nation,  left  no  one  at 
his  death  capable  of  comprehending  or  ex- 
ecuting his  plans ;  and  the  empire  that  was 
formed  by  his  ten  generals  was  a  heteroge- 
neous one,  possessing  elements  both  of  weak- 
ness and  strength  that  were  incapable  of  be- 
ing welded  into  unity.  Among  the  descend- 
ants and  successors  of  these  generals  was 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  whose  hatred  of  Juda- 
ism amounted  to  real  monomania,  and  whose 
insane  purpose  to  exterminate  utterly  the 
customs,  usages,  religion,  and  even  the  ex- 
istence of  Judaism  carried  him  to  such  ex- 
tremes as  to  arouse  a  spirit  of  revolt  which, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Maccabees,  de- 
feated his  intent.  In  him  the  prophet 
Daniel  foresaw  the  incarnation  of  all  that 
is  hostile  to  Christ  and  his  kingdom. 

In  the  days  of  John  the  political  sover- 
eignty of  the  world  was  wielded  by  a  still 
more  formidable  power,  one  that  combined 
in  itself  the  strength  of  all  the  four  kingdoms 
of  Daniel,  uniting  the  lion,  the  bear,  and 
the  leopard  with  the  added  and  imparted 
authority  and  power  of  the  dragon.  That 
power  was  the  Roman  Empire,  between 
which  and  Christianity  had  already  begun 

116 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

the  antagonism  which  was  to  leave  its  de- 
cisive and  disastrous  effects  upon  both. 

The  policy  of  Rome  toward  conquered 
peoples  and  religions  had  not  been  one, 
customarily,  of  harsh  severity;  indeed,  it 
had  been  marked  in  general  by  unusual 
liberality.  Having  so  many  gods  in  lier 
own  Pantheon,  it  has  been  said,  the  addi- 
tion or  subtraction  of  a  few  more  or  less 
was  hardly  worth  consideration.  But  upon 
one  thing  Rome  invariably  and  absolutely 
insisted — the  preservation  of  public  order. 
Her  administration  was  one  of  strict,  even 
stern,  paternalism.  The  individual  existed 
for  the  State,  and  had  no  rights  but  such  as 
the  State  allowed.  The  central  power  did 
all  the  thinking;  the  subject  had  only  to 
submit,  whatever  his  personal  wishes.  Upon 
the  emperor,  as  the  embodiment  of  the 
State,  devolved  the  onerous  responsibility 
of  securing  and,  if  need  were,  of  enforcing 
peaceful  and  lawful  relations  between  men 
and  men.  Whenever  therefore,  the  profes- 
sion of  any  religion  or  the  organization  of 
any  guild  or  association  interfered  with  the 
prosperity  of  any  branch  of  trade  or  com- 
merce or  manufacture,  the  emperor  felt  called 

upon  to  interpose,  in  order  to  redress  the  in- 
111 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

jury  caused  or  wrong  suffered  thereb}-.  The 
more  conscientious  and  upright  the  em- 
peror, the  more  he  felt  the  responsibility  of 
administering  the  laws ;  and  thus  just  and 
righteous  rulers,  like  Trajan  and  Antoninus 
and  Marcus  Aurelius,  were  more  likely  to 
enforce  these  rules  of  order,  even  to  the 
point  of  persecution,  than  such  men  as  Nero 
and  Caligula  and  Domitian,  upon  whom 
moral  considerations  sat  loosely. 

The  early  persecutions  of  Christians 
sprang  out  of  this  fact.  There  were  things 
Christian  men  would  not  do.  They  would 
not  eat  meat  sacrificed  to  idols ;  they 
would  not  attend  the  spectacles  of  the 
theater;  they  would  not  worship  or  own 
images;  and,  as  the  trades  and  professions 
that  lived  by  these  things  suffered  with  the 
increase  of  Christians,  complaint  was  made 
to  the  emperor,  and  the  power  of  the  State 
invoked  in  behalf  of  public  order.  The  riot 
at  Ephesus  (Acts  xix,  23-41)  is  a  case  in 
illustration. 

Very  soon,  however,  the  Roman  authori- 
ties came  to  see  that  there  was  something 
back  of  Christian  worship  that  differentiated 
it  from  other  cults.     There  was  a  principle 

of  individual  liberty,  a  conviction   of  per- 
ns 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

sonal  freedom,  an  appreciation  of  unseen 
and  divine  realities  which,  if  unchecked, 
threatened  the  paternalism  and  the  emperor 
— the  worship  of  the  Caesars  and  the  contin- 
uance of  the  empire ;  and  so  Christians  be- 
gan to  be  persecuted  simply  because  they 
were  Christians.  Thus  began  the  antago- 
nism that  did  not  cease  until  the  empire  be- 
came nominally  Christian,  and  the  Church, 
striving  after  the  universality  of  the  em- 
pire, became  worldly  and  paternal  in  its 
turn.  This  antagonism  John  clearly  dis- 
cerned, and  reveals  it  in  the  Apocalypse. 

But  we  shall  be  astray  if  we  conceive  that 
the  beast  which  the  apostle  saw  symbolized 
only  the  Roman  or  any  other  empire.  There 
is  an  evil  principle  which  was  in  existence 
long  before  that  empire  was  established, 
and  has  continued  with  unabating  energy 
since  its  dissolution  ;  of  whose  power  earthly 
and  worldly  kingdoms  are  but  manifesta- 
tions ;  which  Satan  has  employed  in  all  ages 
as  one  of  his  most  successful  weapons ;  and 
whose  deadly  hostility  to  the  Christian  and 
the  Church  is  implacable.  It  is  the  principle 
of  worldliness,  that  spirit  of  the  world 
against  which  the  Bible  so  frequently  and 
faithfully  warns  us. 

119 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

It  is  not  easy  to  define  worldliness.  If  it 
could  be  described  exactl}^,  and  its  bounds 
accurately  meted,  its  danger  would  be  great- 
ly diminished.  If  Ave  could  point  to  the 
doing  or  abstaining  from  doing  of  specified 
things,  or  the  using  or  refraining  from  using 
of  any  particular  faculties,  and  say,  ' '  This 
is  worldliness  and  this  only,"  how  much 
easier  it  would  be  to  avoid  it !  Worldliness 
is  a  principle,  a  spirit  and  temper  of  the 
soul.  It  can  find  afield  for  its  exercise  any- 
where and  everywhere,  in  things  essentially 
good  as  well  as  in  the  essentially  evil.  Its 
intrinsic  spirit  lies  in  this — that  it  disen- 
gages men  and  things  from  their  normal 
relation  of  dependence  upon  and  subjection 
to  God,  and  sets  them  up  as  rivals  to  him. 
It  assumes  to  displace  the  Creator  from  his 
rightful  sovereignty  over  thoughts  and  de- 
sires and  affections  and  activities,  and  trans- 
fers allegiance  to  some  created  thing.  It 
substitutes  something  temporal  and  earthly 
for  God  and  gives  to  it  the  worship  that 
belongs  undividedly  to  him.  It  manifests 
itself,  John  tells  us,  in  ' '  the  lust  of  the  flesh, 
the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  vainglory  of 
life."  This  is  the  spirit  of  which  the  Bible 
speaks  so  plainly  and  forcibly  in  passages 

120 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

like  these:  "If  the  world  hate  you,  ye 
know  that  it  hated  me  before  it  hated  you;" 
"  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God, 
for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God, 
neither  indeed  can  be;"  "  Know  ye  not  that 
the  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  with 
God?  whosoever,  therefore,  will  be  a  friend 
of  the  world,  is  the  enemy  of  God;"  "  If 
any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the 
Father  is  not  in  him."  And  every  charac- 
teristic of  the  wild  beast  which  John  saw 
exhibits  this  spirit  of  worldliness.  It,  and 
it  alone,  exhausts  the  fullness  of  the  de- 
scription. 

Of  this  beast  which  John  saw,  one  of  the 
heads  was,  as  it  were,  "  wounded  [or  slain] 
to  death  " — the  very  words  v/hich  were  used 
in  the  description  of  the  Lamb  (R-ev.  v,  6), 
as  if  there  were  in  this  an  attempted,  al- 
though feeble,  imitation  of  Christ.  World- 
liness, too,  has  its  Calvaries  and  Gethsema- 
nes ;  but  they  fall  far  short  in  measure  and 
in  purpose  of  the  great  sacrifice  of  the  cross. 
They  are  compulsory,  not  self-chosen  sacri- 
fices ;  they  are  not  redemptive  and  substi- 
tutional in  their  design,  but  retributive  in- 
flictions of  divine  justice ;  they  involve  but 
a  part  of  the  being,  and  are  not,   as  was 

121 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Christ's  offering,  the  surrender  of  the  whole 
self. 

Many  such  wounds  has  worldliness  re- 
ceived. The  serpent's  head  has  been  bruised 
again  and  again  by  the  seed  of  the  woman. 
In  the  judgments  which  have  come  upon 
the  world  throughout  the  course  of  its  his- 
tory— in  the  deluge,  the  destruction  of  Sod- 
om and  Gomorrah,  the  exodus  from  Egypt, 
the  overthrow  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem — its  spirit  has  been  re- 
buked, condemned,  punished.  Indeed,  in 
all  the  dissolutions  and  decay  of  nature — in 
the  fading  of  the  grass,  in  the  falling  of  the 
flower  and  of  the  leaf — the  warning  is  being 
constantly  given,  ' '  The  world  passe th  away, 
and  the  lust  thereof."  Most  of  all,  in  the 
cross  of  Christ  has  the  world  received  its 
deadliest  wound .  But  how  soon  is  the  wound 
healed,  how  quickly  are  the  lessons  of  prov- 
idence forgotten !  and  the  tide  of  worldli- 
ness, stayed  for  a  moment,  resumes  its  vol- 
ume and  rapidity  and  carries  its  victims  to 
their  destruction. 

It  is  this  power  of  recuperation  w^hich  con- 
tributes to  the  might  of  worldliness  and 
makes  it  the  more  dangerous.  Success  adds 
to  its  fascinations  and  multiplies  its  votaries. 

122 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

"  All  the  world  wondered  after  the  beast" 
whose  deadly  wound  was  healed.  In  com- 
parison with  its  triumphs  the  cross  of  Christ 
becomes  a  stumbling-block  to  some  and  fool- 
ishness to  others,  because  of  the  paucit}^  of 
its  victories.  And  in  worshiping  the  beast 
its  followers  are  scarcely  aware,  or  are  obliv- 
ious to  the  fact,  that  they  are  worshiping 
the  dragon  himself ;  for  Paul  says,  ' '  The 
things  which  the  Gentiles  sacrifice,  they  sac- 
rifice to  devils,  and  not  to  God." 

Another  striking  and  conspicuous  charac- 
teristic of  the  first  beast  was  his  virulent 
blasphemy.  Upon  his  heads  were  ' '  the 
names  of  blasphemy."  The  voices  of  his 
mouth  were  blasphemy.  His  fierce,  am- 
bitious purpose  to  displace  God  and  usurp 
his  throne — and  this  is  what  the  Bible  de- 
fines blasphemy  to  be — moved  him  to  de- 
mand such  homage  as  can  be  given  rightly 
to  God  alone,  and  to  set  up  his  own  taber- 
nacle and  name  as  competitors  with  God's. 
Is  not  this  descriptive  of  the  spirit  of  world- 
liness?  How  exacting  it  is  of  the  worship 
of  its  devotees !  In  place  of  the  Creator,  who 
is  blessed  for  ever,  it  substitutes  the  crea- 
ture. It  enthrones  nature  in  some  one  or 
other  of  its  phases  as  the  rival  of  the  divine 

123 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Being.  It  will  not  admit  the  visible  uni- 
verse, with  its  laws,  to  be  merely  the  vehi- 
cle through  which  God  reveals  himself  and 
his  thoughts,  but  demands  for  it  equality  of 
homage  with  its  Maker.  It  does  not  claim 
for  itself  power  to  work  miracles,  and  will 
not  believe  that  any  are  possible.  It  does 
not  base  its  authority  upon  any  supernatural 
revelation,  and  denies  that  any  is  needful. 
Like  Absalom,  in  the  gates  it  whispers  in 
every  man's  ears,  ' '  O  that  I  were  made 
judge  in  the  land!"  and  thus  draws  unwary 
souls  into  treason  against  their  King.  It 
arrogates  to  itself  the  right  to  the  whole  of 
man's  being — to  all  beauty  and  life,  to  all 
literature  and  art,  to  all  recreation  and  en- 
joyment, to  the  exclusive  and  undivided  use 
and  administration  of  all  earthly  powers  and 
faculties. 

And  how  ruthless  and  cruel  this  spirit  of 
worldliness  can  be !  Does  any  human  soul, 
driven  by  dissatisfaction  and  heartache,  seek 
to  lift  the  veil  and  penetrate  to  the  secret 
shrine  of  the  universe,  or  to  pierce  the  ''rose 
mesh  "  of  mystery  that  surrounds  us  and  as- 
cend to  the  divine  Spirit  above  and  beyond 
it,  how  quickly  is  the  fascinating  smile  of 
the   world  turned  to  bitter  scorn,   and  its 

124 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

smooth  flattery  to  remorseless  persecution ! 
With  what  haughtiness  and  assumption  does 
it  contend  that,  in  everything  relating  to 
music  and  poetry,  to  the  aesthetic  arts,  to 
finance  and  politics  and  social  matters,  the 
question  of  morals  has  no  place  and  God  and 
religion  have  no  right  to  enter ! 

To  this  beast,  we  are  further  informed, 
power,  or  authority,  was  given  ' '  to  continue 
forty  and  two  months."  This  number,  it 
has  been  previously  said,  is  the  symbol  of 
an  epoch,  which  is  limited  and  fractional, 
but  which  has  a  definite  purpose  pervad- 
ing it. 

Throughout  the  whole  period  of  Judaism 
this  beast  raged  with  all  his  ferocity  against 
the  Church  of  the  Old  Testament.  And, 
although  the  wild  beast  next  to  be  deline- 
ated was  a  more  formidable  adversary  to  re- 
ligion than  even  he,  yet  the  temptation  to 
fall  into  the  ways,  and  follow  the  practices, 
and  to  drop  down  to  the  religious  level  of 
the  ungodly  world  of  heathenism  around 
constituted  a  peril  to  the  Hebrew  faith 
against  v\rhich  the  prophets  had  need  fre- 
quently to  lift  their  voices.  And  how  con- 
stant even  now  is  the  peril  to  the  Christian 
Church  and  the  Christian  believer  of  falling 

125 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

into  the  worship  of  the  same  beast  of  world- 
liness,  is  so  patent  a  truth  that  every  man's 
observation  and  experience  are  sufficient  to 
prove  it.  The  victims  of  worldliness  are, 
indeed,  many,  and  to  resist  sorely  tries  ' '  the 
patience  and  the  faith  of  the  saints."  But 
its  doom  is  sure  and  irretrievable,  whether 
that  doom  shall  come  by  the  sword  of  God 
or  by  captivity.  Its  own  methods  of  hos- 
tility shall  be  turned  against  itself. 

3.  T/ie  Second  Wild  Beast,  or  the  Spirit  of 
False  Prophetism. — In  attempting  to  solve 
the  mystery  of  the  second  wild  beast  which 
John  saw  we  are  confronted  with  a  task 
much  more  serious  than  has  as  yet  been  pre- 
sented to  us.  Not  only  is  this  antagonist 
of  Christ  a  more  formidable  one  than  any 
hitherto  encountered,  but  there  seems  an 
almost  purposed  obscurity  and  indistinctness 
about  the  description, as  if  to  the  seer  himself 
the  beast  appeared  in  so  vague  and  nebulous 
a  form,  or  else  was  of  such  composite  and 
heterogeneous  character,  as  to  be  incapable 
of  more  exact  delineation.  The  only  way 
to  reach  the  truth  is  to  seek  out  such  features 
of  the  description  as  may  be  regarded  plain, 
and  from  them  to  advance  to  the  more  per- 
plexing ones. 

126 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

It  will  be  noticed,  then,  that  the  second 
beast  rises  not  as  the  preceding  from  the 
sea,  but  from  the  earth ;  that  is,  from  the 
Church,  not  in  its  ideal  state,  but  in  its  ac- 
tual condition,  as  the  field  of  human  activity 
and  influence. 

Again,  it  is  noticeable  that,  while  in  the 
description  of  the  first  beast  the  expression 
''  it  was  given  him  "  occurs  again  and  again 
(much  more  conspicuously  in  the  original 
than  in  the  translation),  in  the  case  of  the 
second  one  this  expression  is,  in  the  main, 
although  not  in  every  instance,  superseded 
by  words  suggesting  active  agency — ''he 
doeth,"  ''  he  maketh,"  ''  he  causeth" — these 
being  all  various  renderings  of  the  same 
Greek  word.  This  would  seem  to  imply 
that,  while  the  first  beast  is  merely  an  emis- 
sary or  instrument  executing  the  will  of 
another,  the  second  differs  from  him  in  that 
he  has,  or  assumes  to  have,  some  power  of 
originating  action,  some  causative  agency, 
and  that  he  regards  himself  as  having  inde- 
pendent authority.  While,  therefore,  the 
results  effected  by  both  are  the  same  {"  He 
had  power  to  give  breath  to  the  image  of 
the  beast "),  those  results  are  brought  about 

in  different  ways. 

127 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Another  very  important  feature  of  the  de- 
scription is  that,  while  the  distinguishing 
characteristic  of  the  first  beast  is  blasphemy 
— an  open  and  undisguised  assumption  of 
the  prerogatives  of  God,  with  intense  and 
avowed  hostility  to  him — the  properties  of 
the  second  are  duplicity,  deception,  and  self- 
deceit — perversion  of  the  truth  rather  than 
antagonism  to  it;  and  hypocrisy,  if  more 
insidious,  is  far  deadlier  than  open  opposi- 
tion. He  has  the  appearance  of  a  lamb, 
while  speaking  as  a  dragon.  He  is  said  to 
work  miracles,  or  at  least  is  said  to  profess 
so  to  do,  which  the  first  beast  did  not.  And 
he  counterfeits  the  work  of  God,  in  that  by 
a  peculiar  mark  he  stamps  upon  his  follow- 
ers his  claim  to  them,  as  the  divine  Being 
affixes  to  his  a  seal  in  attestation  of  his  own- 
ership. 

One  further  remark  may  be  made.  Three 
times  in  the  subsequent  part  of  the  Revela- 
tion (Rev.  xvi,  13;  xix,  20;  xx,  10)  these 
two  adversaries  of  Christ  are  brought  into 
juxtaposition,  and  in  these  instances  it  is 
the  first  beast  alone  who  is  designated  by 
that  name.  The  second  beast  has  the  syn- 
onym of  ''the  false  prophet."  The  term 
seems  to  mark  his  superior  power  or  craft ; 

128 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

to  the  malice  of  a  beast  is  added  the  higher 
intelligence  of  a  man.  The  combination 
attests  the  formidable  character  of  this  wily- 
antagonist. 

In  this  last-named  feature  lies  a  sugges- 
tion which  may  serve  as  a  clew  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  symbol  and  unveil  its  mys- 
tery. A  false  prophet  can  stand  only  in 
contrast  with  a  true  one.  It  will  be  need- 
ful, therefore,  to  discuss,  somewhat  in  de- 
tail, the  characteristic  functions  of  the  pro- 
phetical office  as  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures. 

*'The  usage  of  the  word  [prophet],"  says 
Cremer,^  "is  clear.  It  signifies  one  to 
whom  and  through  whom  God  speaks. 
What  really  constitutes  the  prophet  is  im- 
mediate intercourse  with  God,  a  divine  com- 
munication of  what  the  prophet  must  de- 
clare. Two  things,  therefore,  go  to  make 
the  prophet — an  insight  granted  by  God  into 
the  divine  secrets  or  mysteries,  and  a  com- 
munication to  others  of  those  secrets.  New 
Testament  prophets  were  for  the  Christian 
Church  what  Old  Testament  prophets  were 
for  Israel,  inasmuch  as  they  maintained  in- 
tact the  immediate  connection  between  the 

"^Lexicon  of  New  Testament  Greeks  third  English  edition, 
pp.  568,  569. 

9  129 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Church  and,  not  the  Holy  Spirit  in  her,  but 
the  God  of  her  salvation  above  her.  The 
prophets,  both  in  the  old  and  the  new  dis- 
pensations, were  messengers  or  media  of 
communication  between  the  upper  and  the 
lower  world." 

' '  The  primary  idea  of  a  prophet,  *'  says 
Ewald,*  ''  is  of  one  who  has  seen  or  heard 
something  which  does  not  concern  himself, 
or  not  himself  alone,  w^hich  will  not  let  him 
rest.  It  wholly  absorbs  him,  ...  so  that 
he  no  longer  hears  or  is  conscious  of  him- 
self, but  of  the  loud  and  clear  voice  of  an- 
other who  is  higher  than  himself.  He  acts 
and  speaks,  not  of  his  own  accord ;  a  higher 
one  impels  him,  to  resist  whom  is  sin.  It 
is  his  God,  who  is  also  the  God  of  those  to 
whom  he  must  speak." 

''  That  which,"  says  Oehler,t  ''made  the 
prophet  a  prophet  was  not  his  natural  gifts 
nor  his  own  intention ;  and  that  which 
he  proclaimed  as  the  prophetic  word  was 
not  the  mere  result  of  instruction  received 
nor  the  product  of  his  own  reflection.    The 

"Prophets    of  tJie   Old    Tcslainent,  vol.  i,  p.  7.      London, 
Williams  and  Norgate. 

\  Theology  of  the  Old  Testament,  §§205,  206,     New  York, 
Funk  and  Wagnalls. 

130 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

prophet,  as  such,  knows  himself  to  be  the 
organ  of  divine  revelation,  in  virtue  both  of 
a  divine  vocation  capable  of  being  known  by 
him  as  such,  .  .  .  and  also  of  his  endow- 
ment with  the  enlightening,  sanctifying,  and 
strengthening  Spirit  of  God." 

With  these  statements  the  concurrent 
testimony  of  the  New  Testament  is  in  har- 
mony :  ' '  God  ...  at  sundry  times  and  in 
divers  manners  spake  in  time  past  unto 
the  fathers  by  the  prophets  "  (Heb.  i,  i) ; 
'*  The  prophecy  came  not  in  old  time  by 
the  will  of  man  :  but  holy  men  of  God  spake 
as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost " 
(2  Pet.  i,  2i). 

It  was,  therefore,  essential  to  the  credi- 
bility and  authority  of  the  propbet  that  he 
should  have  received  some  direct  revelation 
from  God.  The  message  intrusted  to  him 
to  deliver  must  be  from  a  source  above  and 
outside  himself.  It  was  not  sufficient  that 
God  spake  in  him ;  he  must  be  able  to  say 
that  God  spake  to  him.  When  to  the  stu- 
dent prepared  by  the  guidance  of  a  teacher 
to  receive  them  nature  reveals  its  facts 
and  laws,  these  come  to  him  as  something 
external  to  him.  They  are  not  suggestions 
or  inspirations  of  his  own  mind,  but  owe 

131 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

their  origin  to  a  source  exterior  to  it.  So 
likewise  with  the  prophet.  How  the  revela- 
tion came  to  him,  and  how  his  hearers  be- 
came convinced  that  God  had  spoken  to  him, 
are  questions  that  do  not  touch  the  truth  of 
his  message.  The  important  thing  is  that 
the  prophet  was  the  agent  and  representa- 
tive of  God  in  delivering  a  message  which 
had  previously  been  committed  to  him. 
Herein  lay  the  distinction  between  the 
priesthood  and  the  prophetical  office.  A 
priest  was  a  man  on  whom  was  laid  the  re- 
sponsibility of  appearing  before  God  on 
behalf  of  men ;  a  prophet  was  one  who  stood 
in  the  presence  of  men  on  behalf  of  God. 
A  priest  represented  man  in  the  court  of 
God ;  a  prophet  represented  God  in  the  court 
of  human  life.  A  priest  was  man's  advo- 
cate ;  a  prophet  was  God's  advocate.  The 
function  of  the  priest  was  to  intercede 
for  his  fellows ;  identity  of  condition  and 
tender  S3^mpathy  with  them  were  therefore 
prime  requisites.  The  function  of  a  prophet 
was  to  deliver  God's  word  to  man ;  strict 
fidelity  to  his  message  and  to  the  truth  were 
his  essential  qualifications.  As  the  priest- 
hood, then,  was  a  type  of  Christ,  finding 
its  perfect  realization  in  him  who  laid  down 

132 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

his  life  a  ransom  for  us,  the  prophetical 
office  was  a  type  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whose 
work  it  is  to  convey  to  man  the  message  of 
God,  whether  it  be  of  conviction,  of  justi- 
fication, of  sanctification,  of  inspiration,  or 
of  assurance. 

If,  therefore,  by  a  ''  false  Christ "  is  meant 
one  who  usurps  the  place  of  Christ  and  sub- 
stitutes himself  for  him,  demanding  from 
men  the  allegiance  due  only  to  the  Son  of 
God,  then  by  a  ''false  prophet"  must  be 
meant  one  who  unconsciously  or  purposely 
substitutes  himself  for  the  Holy  Spirit, 
setting  forth  his  own  conceptions  or  visions 
as  the  voice  of  God. 

"  The  characteristic,"  says  Oehler,"'  "  of 
the  false  prophets  is  declared  to  be  that 
they  speak  that  wliicli  they  themselves 
have  devised.  These  latter  are  designated 
(Ezek.  xiii,  2)  as  prophets  '  out  of  their  own 
hearts,'  who  'follow  their  own  spirit,  and 
have  seen  nothing;'  'they  speak,'  according 
to  Jer.  xxiii,  16,  "a  vision  of  their  own 
heart,  and  not  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord.'" 

No  stage  of  history  has  been  free  from 
such  presumptuous  prophets.     Their  exist- 

*  Theology  of  the  Old  Testament,  p.  464. 
133 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

ence  and  the  disastrous  work  they  wrought 
are  set  forth  again  and  again  in  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures.  But  that  their  ap- 
pearance in  larger  numbers  and  under  more 
formidable  guises  may  be  expected  in  the 
New  Testament  dispensation  follows  from 
a  consideration  of  the  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity upon  human  nature. 

Unquestionably,  one  marked  result  of  that 
copious  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which 
beginning  at  Pentecost  has  continued  until 
now,  was  a  quickening  of  the  human  soul 
to  a  realization  of  its  individualit}'.  Fifteen 
centuries  of  wSad  experience  and  a  convul- 
sion which  disrupted  Western  Christendom 
were  needed  to  bring  any  large  portion  of 
the  Churcli  to  an  appreciation  of  the  privi- 
leges which  inhere  in  this  individualism. 
Since  the  great  Reformation  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  men  have  come  by  freer 
study  of  the  Bible  to  discern  more  clearly 
the  possibilities  which  it  teaches  of  personal 
consciousness  of  sonship,  and  of  the  indi- 
vidual possession  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  every 
soul  availing  itself  of  the  privilege  ;  although 
there  have  never  been  wanting  those  who 
have  discerned  the  possibility  of  individual 
communion  with  the  spiritual  world. 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

In  individualism  hirks  a  danger  against 
which  no  revelation  can  absolutely  secure  us. 
I  may  transgress  its  prescribed  limitations 
and  become  excessive.  It  may  strive  after 
independence  from  its  Creator  and  put  forth 
its  hands  to  forbidden  fruit.  It  may  assume 
prerogatives  which  the  divine  Being  reserves 
to  himself.  It  may  substitute  its  own  im- 
aginings and  volitions  for  voices  of  God, 
and  displace  that  real  spirituality  which 
only  the  Holy  Ghost  can  create  with  an 
auto-spiritualism  which  is  deceptive,  illus- 
ory, and  specious,  the  precursor  of  spiritual 
and  intellectual  anarchy. 

Our  Lord  gave  warning  of  this  peril  when, 
predicting  the  trials  which  should  come,  he 
said,  "  There  shall  arise  false  Christs,  and 
false  prophets,  and  shall  show  great  signs 
and  wonders;  insomuch  that,  if  it  were 
possible,  they  shall  deceive  the  very  elect." 
Paul  foresaw  it,  saying  to  the  Ephesian 
elders,  ' '  Of  your  own  selves  shall  men  arise, 
speaking  perverse  things,  to  drawaway 
disciples  after  them."  It  was  this  which 
led  John  to  write,  "  Believe  not  every  spirit, 
but  try  the  spirits  whether  they  are  of  God : 
because  many  false  prophets  are  gone  out 
into  the  world." 

135 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

The  writer  of  the  Revelation  had  no  need 
to  go  beyond  his  own  memory  to  find  symp- 
toms of  this  spirit.  Already  it  had  begun 
to  manifest  itself  in  the  apostolic  Church. 
Simon  Magus  was  a  conspicuous  but  not 
solitary  example.  In  the  epistles  to  the 
seven  churches  there  are  cautions  against 
**the  Nicolaitans  "  and  ''the  woman  Jeze- 
bel, which  calleth  herself  a  prophetess," 
very  distinct  from  those  which  denounce 
the  pleasures  or  the  persecutionsof  the 
world.  In  the  ante-Nicene  age  gnosticism, 
with  its  pretensions  to  a  theosophy  more 
profound,  a  knowledge  more  extensive  and 
exact,  a  code  of  ethics  more  consistent, 
and  a  self-denial  more  rigid  than  those  of 
the  faithful,  was  a  more  dangerous  ad- 
versary than  the  Roman  empire;  and  we 
who  appreciate  the  skillfulness  of  its  spe- 
cious arguments  realize  that  nothing  but 
the  providence  of  God  carried  the  artless  and 
unsuspicious  Church  safely  through  the 
peril.*  And  throughout  the  ages  since 
there  has  been  a  continuous  reappearance 
of  this  spirit,  sometimes  within,  sometimes 

*  Bigg,  Christian  Platonists  of  Alexandria,  Bampton  Lec- 
tures, 1886,  lecture  i,  p.  35  ;  Harnack,  History  of  Dogma, 
book  i,  chapt.  iv. 

136 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

outside  the  Church ;  not  always  avowedly 
antagonistic  to  Christianity,  but  assuming 
to  be  a  more  perfect  form  of  it ;  not  im- 
pugning the  authority  of  the  Scriptures, 
but  claiming  to  possess  deeper  views  of 
their  esoteric  meaning ;  not  openly  subvert- 
ing the  foundations  of  morals,  but  supersed- 
ing them  by  a  show  of  a  more  austere  and 
uncompromising  sanctimoniousness.  It  so 
puts  on  the  appearance  of  a  lamb  that  its 
dragon  nature  is  hard  to  detect.  It  has 
cropped  out  in  Manichseism,  in  Paulician- 
ism,  in  Albigensianism,  among  hermits  and 
pillar  saints,  among  pietists,  mystics,  oc- 
cultists, and  other  professors  of  a  strained 
and  exalted  perfection  and  illumination  to 
which  only  the  elect  initiate  can  aspire, 
and  from  which  the  common  masses  of  be- 
lievers are  excluded. 

It  is  hard  to  describe  this  spirit  by  a  sin- 
gle name.  It  wears  so  many  forms  that  no 
one  word  can  comprehend  all  of  them. 
Even  the  apostolic  pen  failed  to  depict  this 
adversary  clearly  or  sketch  its  outline  with 
distinctness.  Deceit  seems  to  be  the  per- 
vading and  controlling  element  of  its  being, 
and  to  affect  both  substance  and  form.    But 

it  has  as  its  usual  accompaniment  one  mark 
137 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

whicli  it  stamps  upon  its  devotees — a  scru- 
pulous and  rigid  asceticism  which  deludes 
itself  with  the  hope  of  emancipation  from 
the  necessary  conditions  of  earthly  life, 
which  denounces  as  sinful  things  proper  in 
themselves,  simply  because  they  are  natural 
or  secular,  and  which  aims  at  the  profitless 
and  impracticable  task  of  anticipating  in 
this  life  the  celestial  state  of  disembodied 
spirits.  No  creature  can  ever  with  impu- 
nity contravene  the  laws  imposed  upon  his 
nature.  The  abnormal  and  excessive  de- 
velopment of  one  side  of  man's  constitution 
is  sure  to  involve  a  corresponding  atrophy 
of  some  other  side,  and  thus  the  sins  ex- 
cluded by  one  system  of  defenses  find  en- 
trance through  some  other  avenue  left 
unguarded.  And  the  constant  result  of 
asceticism  has  been  in  the  end  to  revive 
Vvdth  new  power  the  worldliness  it  aimed  to 
destroy ;  so  that  in  this  sense  the  second 
beavSt  gives  ''life"  and  breath  ''unto  the 
image"  of  the  first.  For  the  termination 
of  all  hyperspiritualism  has  been  either  in 
an  arrogant  self-exaltation,  the  very  oppo- 
site of  Christian  humility  and  love,  or  in  an 
antinomianism  which,  under  the  affectation 
of  liberty,  gives  loose  rein  to  sensualism. 

138 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

To  the  question,  which  thus  becomes  of 
vital  importance,  How  shall  we  **try  the 
spirits"  to  know  ''whether  they  are  of 
God"  ?  John  has  elsewhere  furnished  a  suf- 
ficient answer :  ' '  Every  spirit  that  conf ess- 
eth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is 
of  God :  and  every  spirit  that  confesseth  not 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  not 
of  God :  and  this  is  that  spirit  of  antichrist, 
whereof  5^e  have  heard  that  it  should  come ; 
and  even  now  already  is  it  in  the  world  " 
(i  Johniv,  2,  3). 

The  central  principle  of  all  asceticism,  in 
whatever  form,  and  whether  perceived  and 
acknowledged  or  not,  is  that  matter  is 
essentially  evil  and  spirit  essentially  good. 
It  is  in  the  contact  of  soul  with  body  and  of 
spirit  with  matter  that  sin  lies.  Holiness, 
therefore,  means  only  the  diminution  or  de- 
struction of  this  contact.  All  bodily  desires, 
activities,  and  enjoyments,  if  they  cannot 
be  annihilated,  must  be  reduced  to  the 
minimum,  that  thereby  the  ascendency  of 
the  spirit  may  be  gained  and  maintained . 
Thus  human  nature  is  mutilated  to  half  its 
capacities.  Religion  becomes  only  a  "  con- 
cision," not  a  process  of  transformation. 
The  problem  of  redemption  is  no  longer  the 

139 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

moral  one  of  the  salvation  of  the  soul  from 
the  guilt  and  pollution  of  sin,  but  the 
metaphysical  one  of  the  liberation  of  the 
spirit  from  matter.^  By  such  as  hold  this 
view  of  things  the  assumption  by  the  Son  of 
God  of  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  his  birth, 
his  fellowship  with  earthl}^  conditions  and 
experiences,  can  never  be  fully  accepted; 
his  crucifixion  is  attenuated  into  a  figure  of 
speech  or  becomes  a  mere  parable,  and 
cannot  be  the  necessary  means  of  our  sal- 
vation. 

Against  such  a  theory  the  Revelation  is 
one  long  protest.  Its  keynote  is  salvation 
through  ''  the  Lamb  that  was  slain."  Nor 
does  anything  prove  so  conclusively  that 
John  was  the  author  of  the  Apocalypse  as 
the  fact  that  in  it,  in  the  fourth  gospel,  and 
in  the  epistles  which  bear  his  name,  the 
central  and  fundamental  truth  was  the 
same:  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and 
dwelt  among  us ; "  and, ' '  This  is  he  that  came 
by  water  and  blood,  even  Jesus  Christ ;  not 
by  water  only,  but  by  water  and  blood. 
And  it  is  the  Spirit  that  beareth  witness, 
because  the  Spirit  is  truth." 

■'*M5ller,  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  vol.   i,  pp.  152, 
153.     New  York,  Swan  Sonnenschein  &  Co.,  1892. 
140 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

The  acquisition  of  knowledge  depends  as 
much  upon  a  right  method  as  upon  an  ear- 
nest purpose.  Alphabets  must  be  mastered 
before  sentences  can  be  read.  No  one  can 
understand  the  higher  mathematics  who 
has  not  been  grounded  in  the  fundamental 
axioms.  And  one  of  the  axioms  of  the 
spiritual  life  is  that  the  Holy  Spirit  cannot 
be  given  until  Jesus  is  glorified  (John  vii, 
39).  Whoever  does  not  accept,  with  all  im- 
plied therein,  the  exemplary  earthly  life  and 
the  atoning  and  sacrificial  death  of  the  Son 
of  God  may  well  pause  to  reflect  whether  the 
spirit  which  leads  and  moves  him  is  indeed 
the  Spirit  of  God,  or  whether  it  is  not  the 
spirit  of  evil  and  untruth.  We  may  not  set 
limits  to  the  spiritual  flights  of  which  the 
soul  is  capable,  but  it  must  have  a  solid 
basis  from  which  to  start;  otherwise  it 
wastes  its  strength  in  aimless  wanderings 
amid  mazy  fogs  and  vagaries. 

The  path  of  truth  lies  between  extremes, 
and  from  either  side  of  the  ridge  along 
which  it  winds  steep  declines  lead  to  danger- 
ous abysses.  If  a  man,  on  the  one  hand, 
accepts  to  the  full  the  reality  of  the  incarna- 
tion of  the  Son  of  God,  and  then  does  not 
advance  to  thatother  revealed  truth,  that  the 

141 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Holy  Ghost  is  of  equal  power  and  divinity 
and  that  his  mission  is  as  wide  in  its  range 
and  as  complete  in  its  effects,  religion  will 
be  to  him  a  thing  of  externals,  of  outward 
and  mechanical  forms  and  rites.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  ascetic  who  would  aspire  to 
the  full  heights  of  the  revelation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  without  accepting  what  must  precede 
success — the  real  humanity  of  our  Lord,  his 
cross,  his  grave,  his  resurrection — will 
surely  miss  the  path  and  be  lost  in  abstrac- 
tions, fanaticisms,  delusion,  and  deceit. 

One  last  feature  descriptive  of  the  second 
beast  remains  to  be  considered — the  number 
of  his  name.  '*  Let  him  that  hath  under- 
standing count  the  number  of  the  beast :  for 
it  is  the  number  of  a  man  ;  and  his  number 
is  six  hundred  threescore  and  six."  If 
John  meant  to  cover  a  mystery  he  has  cer- 
tainly succeeded,  for  no  explanation  has  as 
yet  been  offered  convincing  enough  to  com- 
mand the  acceptance  of  the  Church.  Un- 
questionably this  is  the  most  difficult  to 
solve  of  all  the  problems  of  the  book,  and 
the  apostle  is  thought  to  intimate  this  in 
saying,  "  Here  is  wisdom ;  "  although  possi- 
bly his  meaning  is  that  the  special  need  for 
wisdom  lies  in  defense  against  the  wiles  of 

142 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

this  adversary,  ratlier  than  in  solving  the 
mystery  of  his  name. 

The  interpretation  which  has  met  with 
the  largest  assent  is  based  on  the  usage  of 
employing  the  letters  of  the  Greek  and 
Hebrew  alphabets  as  numerals.  Men  have 
attempted  to  discover  some  name  the  letters 
of  which  when  added  will  give  the  nu- 
merical value  six  hundred  and  sixty-six. 
The  name  which  has  secured  the  largest 
number  of  advocates  is  Lateinos  (Latin), 
which,  written  in  Greek  characters  and 
numbered,  gives  six  hundred  and  sixty-six. 
By  Roman  Catholic  interpreters  who  accept 
this  solution  the  empire  of  Rome  is  sup- 
posed to  be  meant;  by  Protestants,  the 
Church  of  Rome.  Dr.  Adam  Clarke  thought 
this  solution  to  ' '  amount  nearly  to  demon- 
stration." 

In  recent  times  many  German  and  other 
scholars,  mainly  for  reasons  based  on  a 
special  theory  of  the  date  of  the  Revela- 
tion, prefer  the  words  Nero  Caesar,  which, 
written  in  Hebrew  letters,  number  six  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six.  Irenaeus  (died  about 
202),  who  attempted  the  problem,  out  of 
many  names  preferred  Teitan,  possibly  to 
suggest  an  analogy  between  the  attempts  of 

143 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Roman  emperors  to  crush  the  Church  and 
the  unsuccessful  war  of  the  Titans  against 
the  gods,  without  venturing  to  put  forth 
his  opinions  in  more  definite  form.  Very 
many  other  names  of  men,  ancient  and 
modern,  have  been  proposed,  with  greater 
or  less  plausibility ;  for  curiosity  to  decipher 
numerical  symbols,  when  it  possesses  a  man, 
holds  him  with  almost  the  fascination  of 
gambling.  But  it  is  apparent  that  the 
combination  of  names  possible  with  only  a 
few  letters  is  so  much  beyond  computation 
that  almost  apostolical  inspiration  is  requisite 
to  decide  upon  the  right  one. 

To  the  word  '' Lateinos,"  strong  as  are 
its  claims,  the  objection  lies  that  the  Roman 
or  Latin  empire  can  scarcely  be  meant, 
since  the  beast  John  describes  is  evidently 
a  spiritual  power,  not  a  secular  one.  Nor 
can  the  Roman  Church  be  meant,  for  it  was 
not  known  as  Latin  in  the  days  of  the  apos- 
tle, nor  for  centuries  afterward ;  and,  as  one 
design  of  the  Apocalypse  was  to  comfort  and 
instruct  the  generation  in  which  John  lived, 
it  would  have  been  inconsistent  with  that 
design  to  select  a  name  which  could  have  no 
meaning  intelligible  to  it  or  to  many  gen- 
erations succeeding.     There  is  wisdom  in 

114 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

the  words  of  Bleek :  ^  ''  The  discovery  that 
a  definite  name  contains  this  number  as  the 
value  of  its  letters  in  Greek  would  not  war- 
rant us  to  assume  the  correctness  of  the  in- 
terpretation if  other  hints  in  the  book  re- 
specting the  beast  did  not  agree." 

Another  explanation  offered  is  that  the 
number  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  is  but  a 
threefold  repetition  of  the  number  six,  John 
thus  intending  to  mark  in  the  most  em- 
phatic manner  that,  however  mighty  the 
power  or  long  the  duration  of  the  beast 
shall  be,  it  will  inevitably  fall  short  of  the 
completeness  and  permanence  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  as  six  is  less  than  seven. 

Still  another  explanation  proposed  is  that 
the  number  was  originally  written  with  the 
Greek  letters  x^^ ;  X  being  equal  to  six  hun- 
dred, ^  to  sixty,  and  r  to  six.  As  x  {fJi)  is 
the  initial  letter  of  Christ,  ^  is  supposed  to 
be  an  emblem  of  Satan,  being  afterward  so 
used  by  the  Gnostics,  and  r  is  the  initial 
of  oravpoq^  cross.  The  symbol,  it  is  said, 
refers  to  some  Satanic  power  intervening 
between  Christ  and  the  cross,  some  system 
which    honors  him   as  teacher  but  denies 

*  Lectures  oil  the  Apocalypse,  ^.'^'].     London,  Williams  & 
Norgate,  1875. 

lu  145 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

him  as  Saviour,  which  accepts  Jesus,  but 
not  *' him  crucified."  The  description  ac- 
cords well  enough  with  that  of  the  second 
beast ;  but  whether  it  can  be  extracted  from 
the  number  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  is 
another  question.  The  monogram,  while 
harmonizing  with  the  symbolism  of  the 
Apocalypse,  and  also  delineating  the  nature 
of  the  beast,  does  not  explain  the  em- 
phasis which  seems  to  be  laid  upon  his 
"  name." 

There  is,  however,  one  detail  in  this  part 
of  the  description  of  the  beast  often  over- 
looked, but  which  may  carry  us  far  on  our 
way  to  decipher  the  secret  of  the  number. 
The  number  of  the  name  is  not  monopolized 
by  the  beast ;  it  does  not  exhaust  itself  in 
any  single  individual.  We  are  told  that 
' '  no  man  might  buy  or  sell,  save  he  that  had 
the  mark,  or  the  name  of  the  beast,  or  the 
number  of  his  name."  The  beast  has  fol- 
lowers who  imbibe  his  spirit  and  partake  of 
his  characteristics,  and  to  whom  his  name 
and  number  are  equally  appropriate.  It  is 
more  in  keeping  with  this  statement,  as  well 
as  with  other  details,  to  interpret  the  beast 
as  a  principle  rather  than  a  person,  as  be- 
ing some    spirit  of   evil  which,    assuming 

146 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

prominence  in  some  man  or  organization, 
is  yet  shared  by  many  men  and  organi- 
zations. The  ascetic,  false  prophetism 
which  fulfills  the  other  details  of  the  de- 
scription coincides  also  with  this. 

If,  following  out  the  rule  of  interpreta- 
tion which  has  guided  us  hitherto,  and  as- 
suming that  John  drew  his  prediction  of 
the  future  from  facts  and  tendencies  exist- 
ing in  his  day,  we  read  the  epistles  con- 
tained in  chapters  ii  and  iii,  we  shall  find 
that  among  the  perils  which  threatened  the 
apostolic  Church  none  was  more  imminent 
than  that  which  is  called  ' '  the  doctrine  of 
the  Nicolaitans,"  which  was  but  a  repro- 
duction of  the  heresy  of  Balaam,  the  gifted 
and  formidable  rival  and  antagonist  of 
Moses ;  the  name  Nicolaus,  indeed,  meaning 
in  Greek  the  same  that  Balaam  does  in 
Hebrew\  So  deep  a  mark  did  Balaam  make 
that  throughout  the  Old  Testament,  as  well 
as  the  New,  he  stands  as  the  representative, 
as  he  was  the  first  example,  of  that  spirit  of 
false  prophetism  which,  beginning  as  as- 
cetism,  degenerates  into  antinomianism  and 
prostitutes  genius  to  the  service  of  the  flesh. 
Now,  it  is  certainly  true,  as  Zlillig  shows,* 

^Bleek,  Lectures  on  the  Apocalypse,  p.  285. 
14Y 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

that  the  words  ''  Balaam,  the  son  of  Beor, 
soothsayer,"  if  written  in  Hebrew  letters 
do  make  up  the  sum  six  hundred  and 
sixty-six.  It  seems,  therefore,  probable 
that  some  embodiment  of  his  insidious 
spirit,  some  reproduction  of  his  deadly  doc- 
trine, with  its  resultant  lawless  practices,  is 
the  solution  of  this  mysterious  symbol,  the 
second  beast,  against  which  John  earnestly 
warns  the  Church  in  all  ages  to  guard  itself 
as  the  most  dangerous  foe  to  the  kingdom 
of  Christ.  And  possibly  the  archaeological 
researches  which  are  now  bringing  to  light 
much  of  the  hidden  history  of  earlier  ages 
may  yet  discover  to  us  the  sect  which  served 
as  the  basis  of  his  warning. 

The  interpretation  which  has  here  been 
put  upon  the  symbols  of  the  two  wild 
beasts — namely,  that  they  represent,  the 
one  the  spirit  of  worldliness,  the  other 
that  autospiritualism  or  self-centered  piety 
which,  for  lack  of  a  more  comprehensive 
phrase,  may  be  designated  as  false  prophet- 
ism  or  false  asceticism — derives  some  con- 
firmation from  the  fact  that  their  resulting 
effects  have  been  such  as  the  author  of  the 
Revelation  predicted.  Worldliness  seems 
the  baser  of  the  two,   but  its  dominion  is 

148 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

briefer  and  less  stable.  As  the  mind  can 
never  be  content  with  agnosticism,  but  must 
by  necessity  search  for  some  explanation  of 
the  mystery  of  being  until  satisfaction  is 
gained,  so  the  heart  can  never  fully  rest  in 
hopes  and  themes  and  joys  which  are  only 
earthly.  The  religious  instincts  inherent  in 
and  inalienable  from  our  nature  will  assert 
themselves  and  cry  for  God.  On  the  other 
hand,  asceticism,  while  it  seems  to  present 
a  loftier  ideal  and  holds  men  thereby  with  a 
more  permanent  grasp,  is  all  the  more  bale- 
ful by  reason  of  its  deceptiveness.  It  veils 
pride,  ambition,  malice,  selfishness,  under 
the  guise  of  superior  sanctity,  which,  while 
imposing  on  others  by  its  well-masked  du- 
plicity, lulls  its  victims  into  almost  hope- 
less slumber  by  its  hypocrisy.  Those 
whom  it  allures  by  its  professions  of  su- 
perior piety  it  mocks  with  disappointing 
dreams.  It  is  the  dark  shadow  that  always 
waits  on  holiness  and  liberty  ;  it  is  the 
special  temptation  that  besets  souls  seeking 
after  purity  and  knowledge ;  while  world- 
liness  is  that  to  which  those  are  most  prone 
who  mingle  much  with  the  world  and  deal 
with  earthly  realities.  If,  on  the  one  hand, 
it  is  easy  for  men  to  fall  into  the  danger  of 

149 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

using  their  heaven-given  faculties  for  the 
ignoble  purpose  of  gratifying  their  lower 
desires  or  of  turning  stones  to  bread  simply 
that  they  may  live,  it  is  equally  easy,  on  the 
other,  to  wander  into  the  opposite  error  of 
presuming  rashly  upon  God's  providence  and 
mercy,  although  humility  has  degenerated 
into  boasting  and  love  has  been  perverted 
to  censoriousness.  From  neither  tendency 
can  the  regeneration  of  the  world  come ; 
both  are  alike  enemies  of  God  and  of  man. 
4.  Anticipations  of  Victory. — It  is  one  of 
the  characteristic  peculiarities  of  St.  John's 
literary  style  to  introduce  a  subject  which 
for  the  moment  he  merely  suggests  to  our 
notice,  returning  to  it  subsequently  in  order 
that  he  may  amplify  and  complete  it.  He 
goes  over  his  work  again  and  again,  each 
time  adding  some  new  touch,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  bringing  out  in  greater  prominence 
some  detail  of  his  subject.  While  each  sec- 
tion, therefore,  contains  in  measure  an 
epitome  of  the  whole,  in  each  one  some 
single  point  is  more  specifically  and  elabo- 
rately discussed.  There  is,  it  is  true,  ad- 
vance of  thought ;  but  the  eagle  of  the  apos- 
tolic band  moves  in  circles,  bringing  into  no- 
tice of  his  keen  eye  every  part  of  the  field  over 

150 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

which  he  soars,  while  each  swoop  of  his 
wing-  carries  liim  a  little  beyond  his  former 
orbit,  so  that  his  progress  is  in  spirals.  The 
principle  which  controlled  him  seems  to 
have  been  that  of  presenting  to  us  in  sharp 
and  striking  antithesis  the  contrasts  between 
conflicting  ideas,  while  he  "holds  them  under 
our  observation. 

It  is  also  characteristic  of  a  disposition 
like  St.  John's,  and  of  a  life  so  contem- 
plative and  secluded  as  his  was,  to  view 
things  in  the  light  of  their  essential  prin- 
ciples ;  not  as  they  become,  modified  by  con- 
tact and  in  relation  with  each  other,  but 
as  they  radically  and  germinally  are.  By 
consequence  such  minds,  instead  of  being 
occupied  with  the  intermediate  changes, 
pass  at  once  to  ultimate  results  and  see  the 
end  in  the  beginning. 

An  instance  of  this  appears  in  the  four- 
teenth chapter,  which  is  really  but  an  epi- 
logue to  the  preceding  chapters.  In  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  chapters  we  have 
had  presented  to  our  vision  the  for- 
midable enemies  with  which  the  Christian 
believer  must  struggle.  They  have  been 
described  m^ost  graphically  and  with  a 
fullness   of    detail    not    subsequently    ex- 

151 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

ceeded.  The  dramatis  pcrsoncE  are  all 
put  upon  the  stage,  and  no  new  actors  in 
the  tragedy  of  existence  need  be  expected. 
But  these  enemies  are  sufficiently  numerous 
and  terrible  to  excite  apprehension  and 
awaken  earnest  inquiries  as  to  our  means  of 
resistance  and  possibilities  of  success.  The 
seer,  therefore,  pauses  for  a  moment  to  re- 
view the  resources  put  within  our  reach 
and  to  assure  us  of  their  adequacy. 
''Greater  is  he  that  is  in  you,"  he  says, 
"  than  he  that  is  in  the  world."  And  he 
fully  indorses  the  emphatic  declaration  of 
Paul,  ' '  The  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not 
carnal,  but  mighty  through  God  to  the  pull- 
ing down  of  strongholds." 

In  prophesying  victory  over  the  dragon 
and  the  beasts  to  the  saints  of  Christ,  John 
separates  them  into  two  classes,  as  he  had 
done  in  chapter  vii.  This  is  not  in  any 
spirit  of  Jewish  narrowness  or  exclusive- 
ness.  He  had  long  gotten  beyond  that  and 
learned  to  call  no  man  common  whom  God 
had  cleansed.  Even  Paul,  the  apostle  of  the 
uncircumcision,  recognized  a  distinction  be- 
tween the  Jew,  who  was  first,  and  the  Gen- 
tile ;  so  there  can  be  alleged  against  John 

no  bigotry  in  recognizing  the   distinction, 
ir)2 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

inasmuch  as  he  foreshadows  equal  victory 
to  both  classes.  There  can  hardly  be  a 
question  that  by  the  ' '  hundred  forty  and 
four  thousand"  John  meant  Israelites  after 
the  flesh ;  for  they  ' '  stood  on  the  mount 
Sion  ;"  they  sang  a  song  which  none  others 
but  themselves  could  learn,  namely,  the 
song  of  Moses  and  of  the  Lamb  (xv,  3) ;  they 
were  ' '  the  first  fruits  unto  God  and  to  the 
Lamb  "  (xiv,  4) ;  they  were  without  '  *  guile," 
with  reference  no  doubt  to  John  i,  47. 
They  were  "  virgins,"  having  the  true  as- 
ceticism— freedom  from  ungodliness  and 
worldly  lusts.  There  was  reason  for  rejoic- 
ing to  a  Jew  like  John  in  the  fact  that,  in 
spite  of  the  opposition  of  the  rulers  and 
Herods  among  the  chosen  people  to  whom 
had  been  committed  the  oracles  of  God, 
and  on  the  very  spots  of  the  crucifixion 
and  resurrection,  so  many  of  his  former  co- 
religionists had  become  disciples  of  Christ 
and  followed  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he 
led  them. 

But  the  word  of  God  is  not  bound,  nor  is 
it  the  exclusive  property  of  any  race ;  and 
the  seer  immediately  adds  the  vision  of  the 
multitudes  of  "  every  nation,  and  kindred, 

and  tongue,    and  people,"  to  whom   *' the 
15?; 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

everlasting  Gospel "  was  preached  and 
among  whom  it  found  adherents.  The 
fullness  of  the  times  had  come,  and  Gentiles 
might  "fear  God,  and  give  glory  to  him," 
the  one  Creator  of  "  heaven,  and  earth,  and 
the  sea,  and  the  fountains  of  waters." 

One  new  feature  is  now  introduced. 
Babylon,  which  occupies  so  much  of  the 
subsequent  part  of  the  Apocalypse,  is  here 
for  the  first  time  mentioned.  Babylon,  it 
will  be  attempted  to  show,  is  not  another 
adversary,  but  an  apostate  Church  which 
has  succumbed  to  adversaries  and  thereby 
become  a  counterfeit  and  rival  to  Christian- 
ity. It  is  here  brought  upon  the  stage  by 
anticipation,  and  its  doom  foretold,  to  give 
completer  assurance  of  the  coming  victory 
over  all  forms  and  results  of  sin  and  evil. 

The  age  in  which  John  lived  was  an  age 
of  martyrdom.  How  severely  this  fact 
tried  ''the  patience  "and  faith  of  the  early 
Christians  we  know  from  hints  in  other 
apostolical  writings.  Paul  found  it  neces- 
sary to  show  to  his  brethren  in  Rome  that 
if  they  suffered  with  Christ  it  was  that  they 
might  be  also  glorified  together  with  him. 
Peter,  too,  comforts  those  whose  faith  was 
being   so   sorely  tried  with   the  assurance 

154 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

that  the  trial  of  their  faith  was  '  *  more 
precious  than  of  gold  that  perisheth,"  and 
would  be  ' '  found  unto  praise  and  honor 
and  glory  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ." 
And  so  John  gives  to  the  Church  of  his  day 
the  glad  tidings  that,  although  God  buries 
his  workmen,  he  carries  on  his  work ;  that 
they,  if  they  died  '*in  the  Lord,"  should 
''  rest  from  their  labors;  "  and  that  **  their 
works  "  should  survive  and  go  on  winning 
victories  after  their  departure. 

If  it  should  be  asked  how  or  with  what 
weapons  they  were  to  overcome,  John  gives 
the  answer  which  is  found  so  often  in  the 
Book  of  Revelation  that  it  is  one  of  the  keys 
to  unlock  its  mysteries — they  overcome 
* '  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  by  the  word 
of  their  testimony"  (Rev.  xii,  ii);  by 
which  latter  expression  is  meant,  doubtless, 
the  Scriptures,  as  explained  in  the  chapter 
upon  the  two  witnesses.  That  the  two  vis- 
ions which  now  follow,  the  harvest  of  the 
world  and  the  vintage  scene,  refer  to  these 
two  weapons  of  success  furnishes  an  ex- 
planation of  them  so  simple  and  easy  that 
it  is  strange  they  should  have  occasioned 
so  much  difficulty  to  commentators. 

The  prophet  Joel,  from  whose  writings 

156 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

these  visions  are  drawn  (Joel  iii,  13),  proba- 
bly among  the  earliest  and  certainly  among 
the  greatest  of  the  Hebrew  seers,  appears 
to  have  been  gifted  with  a  foresight  of  the 
future  remarkable  even  for  one  of  that  ex- 
traordinary body  of  men.  The  final  and 
complete  triumph  of  God's  cause  over  all 
opposing  foes  in  and  through  Zion,  and  the 
deliverance  of  the  Church  from  all  bondage, 
oppression,  and  danger,  preceded  by  a 
plentiful  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
upon  all  classes,  ages,  and  conditions,  stood 
out  before  him  as  a  certain  and  assured 
fact.  The  details  of  the  methods  by  which 
this  result  was  to  be  achieved  were  not  re- 
vealed to  him,  nor  is  it  surprising  that, 
being  thus  left  to  himself,  he  could  con- 
ceive of  no  other  instrumentalities  than 
those  which  in  his  experience  of  human 
affairs  had  passed  under  his  own  observa- 
tion. This  is  not  the  only  instance  in 
which  the  apostles  of  the  New  Testament, 
while  confirming  the  prophets  of  the  Old 
as  to  results,  have  discerned  more  clearly 
the  power  of  spiritual  forces,  and  for  swords 
and  carnal  weapons  and  rods  of  iron  have 
substituted  the  more  peaceful  instrumen- 
talities of  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  the  breath 

156 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

of  the  Messiah's  lips,  and  the  staff  of  the 
Good  Shepherd. 

The  writer  of  the  Revelation,  expanding 
and  evangelizing  the  vision  of  Joel,  saw  * '  a 
white  cloud, "  and  One  ' '  like  unto  the  Son  of 
man  "  sitting  thereon,  ''  having  on  his  head 
a  golden  crown,  and  in  his  hand  a  sharp 
sickle."  ''Out  of  the  temple"  an  angel 
came  and  cried  to  him,  ''Thrustin  thy  sickle, 
.  .  .  for  the  harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe." 
Whereupon  he  cast  his  sickle  upon  the  earth, 
and  "  the  earth  was  reaped." 

In  these  words  surely  a  reference  is  to 
be  seen  to  the  words  of  our  Lord  himself  ut- 
tered in  the  hearing  of  John  and  recorded 
in  Matt,  xxiv,  14,  30,  31  :  *'  And  this  Gos- 
pel of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all 
the  world  for  a  witness  unto  all  nations ;  and 
then  shall  the  end  come.  .  .  .  And  they 
shall  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and  great 
glory.  And  he  shall  send  his  angels  with  a 
great  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall 
gather  together  his  elect  from  the  four 
winds,  from  one  end  of  heaven  to  the  other." 

This  metaphor  of  the  harvest  as  the  re- 
sult of  the  sowing  of  God's  word  is  one  of 
the  most  common  to  be  found  in  the  Scrip- 

157 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

tures.  ''The  sower  soweth  the  word" 
(Mark  iv,  14),  or  ''the  word  of  the  king- 
dom "  (Matt,  xiii,  19),  or  "  the  word  which 
by  the  Gospel  is  preached  unto  you"  (i 
Peter  i,  25).  "  So  is  the  kingdom  of  God, 
as  if  a  man  should  cast  seed  into  the  ground ; 
and  should  sleep,  and  rise  night  and  day, 
and  the  seed  should  spring  and  grow  up, 
he  knoweth  not  how.  For  the  earth  bring- 
eth  forth  fruit  of  herself  [that  is,  auto- 
matically and  spontaneously].  .  .  .  But 
when  the  fruit  is  brought  forth,  immediately 
he  putteth  in  the  sickle,  because  the  harvest 
is  come  "  (Mark  iv,  26-29). 

That  ' '  the  word  of  God  is  quick  and  pow- 
erful" (Heb.  iv,  12);  that  it  has  God's  life 
in  it  (John  vi,  6},) ;  that  it  is  the  great  weapon 
of  warfare,  defensive  and  offensive,  to  the 
Church  and  the  believer ;  that  it  is  the  in- 
corruptible seed  by  which  men  are  born  into 
the  kingdom  (i  Peter  i,  23);  that  it  is  the 
instrument  whereby  we  are  sanctified  (John 
xvii,  17),  is  the  concurrent  declaration  of 
the  Scriptures  themselves.  That  it  is  to  be 
preached  by  apostles,  prophets,  pastors,  and 
teachers  is  the  commission  binding  on  all : 
"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature "  (Mark  xvi,  15). 

158 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

This  Bible  is  sufficient  of  itself,  all  other 
things  are  only  ancillary ;  "  in  due  season  we 
shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not  "  (Gal.  vi,  9).  All 
literature  and  art  and  culture  and  science 
are  but  as  "  the  grass  "  that  "  wi there th," 
or  ''the  flower"  that  "fadeth;"  ''but  the 
word  of  our  God  shall  stand  forever."  And 
the  martyrs  of  the  apostolical  age  had  the 
inspired  assurance  of  John  to  console  them, 
that  if  they  faithfully  bore  witness  to  the 
word  they  might  fall,  but  "their  works" 
would  follow  on  after  them.  And  in  so 
saying  he  is  only  reechoing  the  words 
which  he  himself  had  heard  from  the  Mas- 
ter, "One  soweth,  and  another  reapeth  " 
(John  iv,  37).  And  John  .shows  how  com- 
pletely he  had  gotten  away  from  Jewish 
narrowness  and  absorbed  the  Master's  spirit, 
in  his  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  Bible 
is  for  every  nation  and  kindred  and  people. 

The  other  instrumentality  of  victory  put 
within  the  reach  of  the  Church,  namely, 
the  all-sufficient  "blood  of  the  Lamb,"  is 
beautifully  illustrated  in  the  vintage  vision, 
which  has  most  needlessly  perplexed  com- 
mentators. 

An  angel — not  now  the  Son  of  man — is 
seen  coming  ' '  out  of  the  temple  which  is  in 

169 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

heaven "  with  a  sharp  sickle.  Another 
angel  came  out  from  the  altar,  who  is  de- 
scribed as  having  ''powder  over  fire"  (the 
same  combination  as  is  found  in  Isa.  vi,  6), 
and  at  his  cry  the  sickle  was  thrust  into  the 
earth,  and  the  clusters  of  fully  ripe  grapes 
gathered  and  cast  ' '  into  the  great  wine 
press  of  the  wrath  of  God." 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  read  these  words 
without  seeing  in  them  a  reference  to  Isa. 
Ixiii,  1-6.  By  the  great  mass  of  believers 
the  words  are  interpreted  as  an  allusion  to 
and  a  prophecy  of  the  atoning  work  of 
Christ.  It  certainly  seems  that  the  writer 
of  the  Revelation  so  understood  them,  not 
only  from  the  connection  of  this  vintage 
scene  with  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  but  also 
from  Rev.  xix,  11-16,  where  the  same  con- 
nection of  the  two  themes,  the  ''sharp 
sword  "  issuing  from  the  mouth  of  Christ, 
that  is,  the  word  of  God,  and  the  ''vesture 
dipped  in  blood,"  with  the  treading  of  the 
wine  press,  is  found. 

Our  belief  in  the  plenary  inspiration  of 
the  writers  of  the  Scriptures  does  not  com- 
pel  us  to  the  conviction  that  they  always 
comprehended  the  full  import  of  their  mes- 
sage, or  that   all  the  particulars  embraced 

160 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

therein  stood  out  clearly  and  plainly  in  their 
minds.  This  is  one  of  the  instances  in 
which  prophets  and  wise  men  desired  to  see 
the  things  which  we  in  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  see,  but  did  not  see  them.  Every 
man  in  painting  mental  pictures  must  of 
necessity  use  colors  with  which  his  own 
mind  is  acquainted,  and  which,  he  has  ac- 
quired by  experience  and  observation.  And 
Isaiah  and  the  other  prophets,  in  the  age 
and  with  the  surroundings  in  the  midst  of 
which  they  lived,  had  no  other  means  of 
conveying  to  the  minds  of  men  the  true 
revelations  which  were  given  to  them  of  the 
suffering  and  victorious  Messiah  than  terms 
such  as  they  saw  exemplified  in  the  world 
of  history  and  in  the  men  about  them.  Any 
other  terms  would  have  been  incomprehen- 
sible, and  so  have  failed  of  their  purpose  to 
help  and  inspirit.  And  the  divinity  of  the 
Bible  is  seen  conspicuously  in  this — that  the 
framework  in  which  its  glorious  pictures 
were  set  is  capable  of  expansion  to  the 
times  in  which  we  live  and  the  larger  views 
we  have,  without  fracture  or  distortion. 
The  signs  and  symbols  which  by  divine  illu- 
mination were  presented  to  them  have  come 
down  to  us ;    but  we,  with  the  clearer  light 

11  161 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

of  tlie  Sun  of  righteousness,  can  read  intel- 
ligently what  were  hieroglyphics  to  them, 
and,  looking  with  unveiled  face,  can  behold 
therein  the  glory  of  God.  That  John,  in 
thus  quoting  from  Isaiah,  has  Calvary  and 
Gethsemanein  his  thoughts  is  shown  by  his 
specifying  particularly  that '  *  the  wine  press 
was  trodden  without  the  city,"  bringing  out 
the  truth,  of  which  Heb.  xiii,  12,  is  the  wit- 
ness, that  "  Jesus  also,  that  he  might  sanc- 
tify the  people  with  his  own  blood,  suffered 
without  the  gate." 

It  is  true  that  in  the  prophecy  of  Lsaiah 
there  appears  an  element  of  vengeance  and 
wrath  that  does  not  comport  with  our  ideas 
of  salvation  and  redemption,  and  even  re- 
pels. The  element  is  still  there ;  but  the 
New  Testament  teaches  us  that  all  that  was 
lonely,  painful,  agonizing  in  human  re- 
demption was  borne  by  the  Christ  for  us. 
We  are  **  bought  with  a  price,"  but  he  paid 
it.  He  was  ''made  a  curse  for  us."  He 
' '  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree," 
and  by  his  ''stripes  "we  are  "healed." 
However  feeble  may  be  the  traces  of  vica- 
riousness  in  nature,  human  life  is  full  of  it, 
is  built  about  it.  All  love  is  manifested  in 
vicarious    suffering.     Scarce   any  rise  but 

162 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

that  some  fall ;  scarce  any  become  rich  but 
that  others  become  poor ;  there  is  hardly  a 
smile  or  a  laugh  of  joy  for  which  some  pain 
is  not  felt  or  some  tear  not  shed  somewhere. 
And,  if  God  manifests  his  love  by  sending 
* '  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins,"  this  is  but  an  illustration  of  the  truth, 
as  apparent  in  the  spiritual  world  as  in  that 
of  nature,  of  the  transmutation  of  forces ; 
the  sum  not  being  increased  or  diminished, 
but  the  places  and  modes  of  manifestation 
changing. 

The  remainder  of  the  vintage  scene  may 
be  easily  explained,  difficult  as  it  has 
seemed  to  most  interpreters,  by  applying 
the  key  w^hich  is  put  into  our  hands,  if  we 
accept  the  solution  offered  above. 

We  must  now  for  almost  the  first  time 
take  up  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel,  which 
from  this  place  onward  almost  singly  rules 
the  Apocalypse,  and  the  careful  vStudy  of 
which  will  throw  light  upon  what  seems 
most  obscure. 

We  are  told  that  ' '  blood  came  out  of  the 
wine  press,  even  unto  the  horse  bridles,  by 
the  space  of  a  thousand  and  six  hundred 
furlongs." 

Turning  to  Ezekiel,  we  find  that  the  last 

163 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

chapters  of  that  great  prophecy  are  taken 
up  with  a  beautiful  description,  ideal  and 
figurative,  doubtless,  of  the  restored  temple, 
holy  city,  and  land  of  the  new  Israel  of 
God.  In  the  forty-seventh  chapter  of 
Ezekiel  the  dimensions  of  this  ideal  land 
are  very  carefully  stated.  The  boundary 
line  of  it  was,  on  the  north  side,  Hamath, 
in  latitude  thirty-four  degrees  twenty  min- 
utes, and,  on  the  south,  a  line  drawn  from 
Tamar,  at  the  southern  border  of  the  Dead 
Sea,  to  Kadesh,  a  brook  emptying  into  the 
Mediterranean.  If,  now,  we  measure  on  a 
map  the  distance  between  these  lines,  we 
shall  find  it  to  be  two  hundred  miles,  or  six- 
teen hundred  furlongs. 

This  whole  space,  comprehending  all  of 
the  Holy  Land,  was  thus  entirely  cov- 
ered with  the  blood  which  flowed  from  the 
wine  press  trodden  by  the  Son  of  God. 
Could  there  be  a  more  complete  statement 
of  the  all-sufficiency  of  that  atoning  blood  ? 
It  is  the  same  truth  presented  to  us  here 
which  John  has  elsewhere  in  plainer  prose 
revealed  to  our  faith  :  ' '  The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  his  Son  cleanse th  us  from  all  sin." 

And  as  if  still  further  to  verify  the  state- 
ment he  tells  us  that  the  blood   reached  to 

164 


The  Foes  of  the  Kingdom 

^'  the  horse  bridles."  There  is  an  allusion 
in  this  to  Zech.  xiv,  20,  where  we  are  told 
that  in  ''  the  day  of  the  Lord"  there  shall 
be  "upon  the  bells  [or,  as  the  margin  has 
it,  '  upon  the  bridles ']  of  the  horses,  Holi- 
ness unto  the  Lord."  The  ideal  land  is  not 
only  covered  in  its  whole  extent  with  the 
atoning  blood,  but  so  deep  is  the  stream 
that  it  buries  all  beneath  it,  except  where 
upon  the  surface  is  displayed  the  significant 
inscription,  ''Holiness  unto  the  Lord." 
Surely  there  is  no  lack  in  the  provisions  of 
salvation.  ''Where  sin  abounded,  grace 
did  much  more  abound :  that  as  sin  hath 
reigned  unto  death,  even  so  might  grace 
reign  through  righteousness  unto  eternal 
life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

Thus,  then,  in  these  beautiful  visions  is 
it  shown  that  the  believer  and  the  Church 
are  sufficiently  armed  for  the  encounter 
with  any  antagonist,  however  furious  or 
formidable.  We  are  supplied  with  "the 
sword  of  the  Spirit "  and  "  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb."  Whatever  the  tasks  may  be  that 
lie  before  us,  having  these,  we  have  all 
necessary  equipment.  Nothing  shall  be 
able  to  harm  us  so  long  as  we  continue  to 
be  followers  of  God. 

165 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

If  the  harvest  scene  illustrates  the  extent 
of  divine  grace,  and  is  an  emblem  of  the 
living  seed  which,  small  in  its  beginnings, 
grows  into  a  great  and  widespreading  tree 
imder  whose  branches  all  the  nations  of 
earth  may  find  shelter  and  rest,  the  vintage 
scene  illustrates  the  depth  to  which  salva- 
tion penetrates.  The  whole  extent  of 
human  need  is  reached.  Neither  is  there  a 
want  anywhere  which  may  not  be  satisfied. 
And  through  the  use  of  the  divinely  ap- 
pointed means  the  kingdom  of  Christ  may 
be  brought  to  its  ideal  of  perfection,  in  us 
and  in  the  whole  Church,  until  God  shall, 
indeed,  be  all  and  in  all. 

1G6 


PART  V 

Ube  Countevteit  ot  tF)e  iklngDom,  or  tbe 
ffalse  Cburcb 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 


PART  V 

The  Countcffeit  of  the  King:dom,  or  the  False 
Chufch 

The  section  of  the  Revelation  which  we 
now  reach,  and  which  extends  from  chapter 
XV  to  the  close  of  chapter  xix,  may  be 
called  the  judgment  section.  There  is  a 
striking  parallelism  between  it  and  part  iii, 
or  the  vision  of  the  trumpets,  which  sym- 
bolizes the  methods  through  which  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  is  furthered.  As  that  section 
divided  itself  into  two  parts — first,  the  nat- 
ural agencies  which  divine  Providence  em- 
ploys, and,  next,  the  supernatural  word — 
so,  also,  this  sets  before  us  what  may  be 
designated  natural  judgments,  and  then 
those  special  visitations  of  divine  justice 
which  await  an  apostate  Christian  or  Church. 

I.  The  Judgments  of  God.  Vision  of  the 
Vtals. — The  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  chapters 
need  not  detain  tis  long,  inasmuch  as  the 
resemblance  between  them  and  the  visions  of 
the  trumpets  is  so  great  that  much  of  what 
might  be  said  has  already  been  anticipated. 
Vials,  or  basins  rather,  were  vessels  used 
in  the   Mosaic  ritual  as  receptacles.     The 

169 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

term  is  used  here  to  designate  the  judg- 
ments which  must  fall  on  men  if  the  warn- 
ings and  messages  symbolized  by  the 
trumpets  are  unheeded.  The  Gospel,  we 
are  told  by  St.  Paul,  may  be  a  savor  of 
death  unto  death,  as  well  as  of  life  unto  life. 
The  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  will  either  be- 
come spirit  and  life  to  us,  or  they  will  judge 
us  at  the  last  day. 

From  ' '  the  temple  of  the  tabernacle  of 
the  testimony"  ''seven  angels  "  are  seen 
issuing  forth  with  vials  containing  ''the 
vseven  last  plagues."  The  word  for 
"  plague  "  is  the  same  used  in  chapter  xiii, 
3.  It  was  there  applied  to  a  temporary 
wound  which  was  quickly  healed.  Its  con- 
nection here  with  the  word  "  last "  and  with 
the  number  "seven"  indicates  that  the 
wounds  or  blows  are  final  and  incurable. 
The  judgments  are  not  corrective  and 
disciplinary,  but  retributive  and  irrevers- 
ible. 

The  angels  with  the  plagues  issue  from 
the  temple  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  testi- 
mony. This  name  is  that  which  is  ap- 
plied to  the  structure  Moses  erected  in  the 
wilderness  and  which  contained  the  ark  of 
the  testimony.     Its  use  here  implies  that 

170 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

the  judgments  that  follow  are  to  be  found 
recorded  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures. 
The  old  word  is  God's  faithful  witness, 
bearing  plain  testimony  to  his  righteous- 
ness and  to  his  anger  at  vsin  and  iniquity. 

Still  further,  it  was  one  of  the  four  beasts, 
or  living  creatures,  who  put  the  vials  into 
the  hands  of  the  angels ;  and,  as  the  four 
beasts  are  supposed  to  be  symbolical  repre- 
sentations of  the  animate  creation,  the  truth 
declared  would  seem  to  be  that  these  judg- 
ments come  as  natural  providences,  or  by 
the  operation  of  laws  which  the  divine 
Being  has  stamped  on  his  creation. 

The  plagues  fall  successively  upon  the 
same  places  that  are  named  in  the  parallel 
vision  of  the  trumpets — the  first  upon  the 
earth;  the  second,  upon  the  sea;  the  third, 
upon  the  rivers  and  fountains  of  waters; 
the  fourth,  upon  the  sun ;  the  fifth ,  upon 
the  throne  of  the  beast,  darkening  his  king- 
dom ;  the  sixth,  upon  the  Euphrates. 

It  is  very  instructive  to  contrast  these 
judgments  with  the  beautiful  figures  by 
which  John,  in  the  last  chapters  of  the  Reve- 
lation, seeks  to  portray  the  glorious  privi- 
leges and  blessings  of  the  perfected  king- 
dom of  Christ. 

171 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Thus,  in  opposition  to  the  "  noisome  and 
grievous  sore"  that  fell ''upon  the  men 
which  had  the  mark  of  the  beast,"  we  have, 
in  chapter  xxii,  2,  the  declaration  that  '*  the 
leaves  of  the  tree"  of  life  "  were  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations." 

In  opposition  to  ''the  sea"  which  ''be- 
came as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man,"  we  are 
told,  in  chapter  xxi,  i,  that  "there  was  no 
more  sea." 

As  a  contrast  to  "  the  rivers  and  foun- 
tains of  waters"  which  "became  blood," 
we  are  told  in  chapter  xxii,  i,  of  "  the  pure 
river  of  the  w^ater  of  life,  clear  as  crystal." 

Over  against  "  the  sun  "  which  "  scorched 
men  with  great  heat,"  the  statement  is 
made,  in  chapter  xxi,  23,  that  "  the  city 
had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the 
moon,  to  shine  in  it:  for  the  glory  of  God 
did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light 
thereof." 

And,  while  judgment  fell  on  the  throne 
of  the  beast,  "  and  his  kingdom  was  full  of 
darkness,  and  they  gnawed  their  tongues 
for  pain,"  we  learn  of  the  new  city  that 
' '  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall 
be  in  it;  and  his  servants  shall  serve  him." 
'  'And  there  shall  be  no  night  there ;  ...  for 

172 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

the  Lord  God  giveth  them  light :  and  they 
shall  reign  forever  and  ever."  There  seems 
to  be  in  this  a  reminiscence  of  the  plague 
of  darkness  with  which  the  Almighty  visited 
Pharaoh  and  the  Egyptians,  and  which  was 
the  last  one  before  the  final  stroke  of  his 
judgment  upon  the  firstborn  (Exod.  x, 
21-23). 

The  fifth  trumpet  was  interpreted  as  a 
prophecy  of  the  blindness,  both  of  heart  and 
mind,  which  comes  upon  men  when  faith 
declines  and  grace  wanes.  This  interpreta- 
tion appears  to  be  confirmed  by  the  judgment 
which  the  plague  of  the  fifth  vial  inflicts. 

The  locality  of  the  sixth  plague  is  the 
Euphrates.  This  river,  as  has  been  pre- 
viously said,  was  the  boundary  line  between 
civilization  and  barbarism.  The  mention 
of  it  implies  that  the  last  conflict  in  which 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  shall  engage  will  be 
waged  to  oppose  an  inroad  or  outburst  of 
barbarism.  But  as  John  presents  this  mat- 
ter with  fuller  details  in  chapter  xx  the 
discussion  of  it  will  be  postponed  until  that 
part  of  the  Revelation  is  reached. 

One  new  feature,  which  is  introduced  for 
the  first  time  in  connection  with  the  sixth 
vial,   is  the  singular  sentence,  ''That  the 

173 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

way  of  the  kings  of  the  east  might  be  pre- 
pared." The  origin  of  this  expression  is  to 
be  found  in  Isa.  xli,  2,  to  which  it  has  doubt- 
less a  reference.  In  that  passage, ' '  the  right- 
eous man  from  the  east  "  to  whom  is  given 
*'  rule  over  kings"  is,  undoubtedly,  Cyrus, 
whose  advent  and  success  are  thus  foretold. 
And  the  meaning  is  that,  as  out  of  heathen- 
ism God  raised  up  that  marvelous  man  as 
an  instrument  to  accomplish  his  purposes 
in  the  deliverance  of  his  people,  so  there  is 
such  fullness  of  resources  in  the  reach  of 
divine  power  that  in  any  emergency  or  peril 
he  is  able  to  find,  anywhere,  means  to  rescue 
his  followers  or  his  Church  out  of  danger. 
Moreover,  the  apostle  saw  coming  "out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of 
the  false  prophet"  ''three  tmclean  spirits 
like  frogs."  Over  against  the  divine 
Trinit}^  the  kingdom  of  darkness  and  sin 
has  its  counterfeit  trinity.  Each  of  its  com- 
ponent persons  has  its  emissaries  and  mes- 
sengers. For  the  final  conflict  all  these  will 
summon  their  entire  resources.  Behind  all 
attempts  to  foil  and  defeat  the  development 
and  perfection  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  lie 

these  evil  powers.     But  their  efforts  will  be 
17i 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

futile ;  inevitable  destruction  and  doom 
await  them ;  and  the  inspired  seer  here 
merely  suggests  the  judgment  of  which 
full  particulars  are  to  be  subsequently  given. 
2.  Babylon  and  its  Doom. — No  part  of  the 
Apocalypse  has  given  rise  to  so  much  con- 
troversy as  that  which  now  engages  otir  at- 
tention ;  and  as,  unhappily,  the  controver- 
sies have  often  originated  in  denominational 
prejudices  and  intensified  denominational 
bitterness,  this  section  has  been  made  a  shib- 
boleth by  which  to  test  conflicting  creeds. 
Truth  is,  indeed,  of  paramount  obligation. 
We  have  no  right  to  accept  or  reject  inter- 
pretations of  the  Scriptures  simply  on  the 
ground  that  they  accord  with  or  are  repug- 
nant to  our  beliefs.  It  is  no  part  of  our 
prerogative  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  the 
word  of  God  or  to  force  it  to  speak  accord- 
ing to  our  mind.  And  nothing  is  ever  really 
consistent  with  love  which  is  not  consistent 
with  truth.  If,  however,  the  purpose  of 
this  remarkable  book  is  to  set  before  us 
those  spiritual  forces  which  work  in  the 
heart  of  every  individual,  as  well  as  in  col- 
lective masses,  there  seems  no  valid  reason 
why  we  should  in  this  part  of  it  depart  from 
those  general  principles   upon  which  it  is 

1V5 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

elsewhere  framed,  or  seek  for  latent  mean- 
ings when  one  which  lies  on  the  surface  is 
capable  of  explaining  and  harmonizing  its 
mysteries. 

Are  we  to  understand  by  Babylon  the 
Church  of  Rome,  or  the  Roman  Empire, 
or  any  specific  body  or  association  of  men, 
religious  or  secular?  Is  the  revelation  here 
given  us  an  anticipatory  epitome  of  history, 
a  foreshadowing  of  events  that  have  already 
transpired  and  are  now  recorded  among  the 
annals  of  the  race?  Is  it  a  prophecy  the 
fulfillment  of  which  can  be  known  only  by 
learned  scholars  acquainted  with  history, 
upon  whose  information  the  wayfaring  man 
and  the  untutored  disciple  of  Christ  must 
depend?  Is  it  a  portion  of  Holy  Writ 
whose  best  commentators  must  be  found  in 
Gibbon  and  Hume  and  such  like  unbeliev- 
ers? Truly,  then,  Saul  is  *'  among  the 
prophets;"  and  this  book  is  singular  and 
anomalous  among  the  revelations  of  God, 
whose  purpose  has  ever  been  to  make  wise 
the  simple,  who  else  would  be  cut  off  from 
access  to  the  sources  of  truth  and  light. 

If  any  of  the  prophecies  of  this  book  can 
be  proven  to  find  their  exhaustive  fulfill- 
ment in  any  particular  and  definite  body, 

1Y6 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

individual,  or  event,  so  that  when  we  have 
identified  the  body  or  individual  or  event  we 
have  reached  the  whole  purpose  of  the 
writer,  then,  of  course,  its  value  as  inspira- 
tion ceases  or,  at  least,  is  materially  dimin- 
ished. It  may  have  an  arcliseological 
interest  as  a  record  of  past  conditions,  but 
its  influence  upon  the  present  and  future 
is  somewhat  like  that  of  a  fossil  upon  living 
types. 

When  the  prophets  of  the  old  dispensa- 
tion uttered  their  denunciations  of  the 
luxuries,  the  sensualism,  the  cruelty,  the 
gilded  vices,  or  the  coarser  sins  of  the  cities 
and  empires  of  the  ancient  world  their  pur- 
pose was  not  to  vent  vindictiveness  against 
conquerors  under  whose  might  the  Israel  of 
God  was  oppressed  and  trampled  down, 
but  to  direct  thought  and  attention  to  a 
spirit  of  evil,  a  principle  of  the  kingdom  of 
darkness,  w^hich  for  a  while  found  an  em- 
bodiment therein,  yet  was  not  wholly  com- 
prehended in  it.  The  empires  crumbled 
into  dust,  the  great  capitals  became  masses 
of  decaying  ruins,  but  the  spirit  which  ani- 
mated them  lived  on,  surviving  their  de- 
struction. 

Such  was,  doubtless,  the  design  of   this 
12  177 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Apocalyptic  vision.  Babylon  is  a  symbol 
of  something  that  has  its  fulfillment  again 
and  again,  but  is  never  exhausted  in  any 
manifestation.  The  generations  of  men, 
down  to  the  close  of  time,  must  watch,  for 
and  be  warned  against  the  spirit  which  it 
embodied,  and  every  individual  Christian, 
as  well  as  the  Church  at  large,  needs  the 
caution  which  is  here  given  him  against 
such  forms  of  it  as  are  likely  to  tempt  him 
from  the  path  of  duty  or  safety. 

Of  all  the  hostile  powers  with  which  the 
Hebrew  people  were  brought  into  contact 
and  from  whom  they  suffered  Babylon 
seems  to  have  been  the  most  dreaded,  and 
the  animosity  expressed  toward  it  by  the 
prophets  was  emphatic  and  marked.  Its 
approaching  doom  evoked  no  sentiment  of 
pity,  but  was  hailed  with  un mingled  satis- 
faction. What  there  was  about  Babylon 
which  justified  such  exceptional  fear  and 
dislike  it  is,  perhaps,  not  possible  for  us  fully 
to  understand,  although  we  may  attain  some 
appreciation  of  it. 

Regarding  Nineveh,   we  have  reason  to 

conjecture  that  its  peculiarity  was  intense 

and  supreme  secularism.     No  temple  has 

been    found   amid   its  ruins  that   was   not 
178 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

merely  the  adjunct  of  a  palace.  The  priest 
was  the  servant  of  the  king.  All  religious 
instincts  and  institutions  were  simply  tools 
which  the  haughty  monarch  unscrupulously 
used  to  carry  out  his  cruel  and  ambitious 
projects.  Such  a  condition  of  things  can 
never  endure  long.  It  works  its  own  de- 
struction, finding  its  cure  within  itself.  It 
was  the  demoralization  resulting  from  a  simi- 
lar condition  which  sapped  the  strength  of 
the  Greek  Empire  of  Byzantium  and,  by 
isolating  it  from  all  allies  or  sympathy,  led 
to  its  overthrow. 

In  Egypt  the  spheres  of  the  State  and  of 
the  Church  maintained  some  independence 
of  each  other.  Vast  as  was  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Pharaohs,  it  was  not  such  as  to  en- 
croach upon  or  absorb  the  functions  of  the 
priestly  caste. 

In  Babylon,  however,  still  another  con- 
dition prevailed.  Here  the  priesthood  was 
the  ruling  order;  the  religious  element 
dominated  the  secular.  The  palace  was  a 
part  of  the  temple.  It  is  noticeable  how 
strongly  in  the  prophetic  descriptions  of 
Babylon  the  Chaldean  element  is  empha- 
sized. It  is  styled  ''the  beauty  of  the 
Chaldees'    excellency,"    "the  land    of    the 

179 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Chaldeans,"  marking  thus  the  supremacy 
of  that  order  of  soothsayers,  sorcerers,  and 
professors  of  magic  and  occult  science. 
Babylon  was  a  theocracy,  but  the  god  wlio 
ruled  it  was  the  prince  of  darkness,  not  Je- 
hovah. The  Church  governed  the  State, 
but  the  Church  was  one  that  incarnated  the 
spirit  of  worldly-mindedness,  not  heavenly- 
mindedness.  So  that,  in  an  altogether  pe- 
culiar and  special  sense,  it  was  the  rival  and 
counterfeit  of  the  true  Church  of  God, 
giving  exercise  to  the  religious  instincts  of 
men  sufficient  to  satisfy  conviction  and 
quiet  conscience,  while  debasing  them  by 
turning  them  into  the  channels  of  lust  and 
sensual  gratification. 

Yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  domination 
of  Babylon  proved  less  hurtful  to  the  Jewish 
nation  than  did  the  hostility  of  any  other  of 
their  great  enemies.  The  form  of  world- 
liness  which  the  Israelites  encountered  in 
Egypt  was  such  as  almost  to  make  them 
forget  their  bondage  in  remembering  the 
enjoyments  they  had  foimd  there.  Their 
actual  experience  in  Babylon  during  the 
years  of  their  captivity,  the  lessons  they 
learned  and  the  comparisons  they  drew 
when    brought   into    personal   relationship 

ISO 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

with  its  life,  left  no  lingering  love  of  idola- 
try and  cured  them  forever  of  any  desire  to 
worship  its  gods. 

But  the  Babylon  of  the  book  of  Revela- 
tion comprehends  more  than  the  Babylon 
of  the  Hebrew  prophets.  The  dangers 
whicb  beset  the  Christian  would  be  far  less 
than  they  are  if  the  Babylon  of  this  world, 
which  opposes  itself  as  a  rival  to  the  king- 
dom of  Christ,  had  no  fascinations  beyond 
those  which  the  great  city  by  the  Euphrates 
could  offer.  The  wily  enemy  of  mankind 
is  too  subtle  to  depend  upon  any  such 
powers  of  attractiveness  as  were  embodied 
in  the  capital  of  the  Chaldean  Empire.  And 
in  describing  the  counterfeit  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  the  writer  of  the  Apocalypse 
adds  to  his  portrait  of  Babylon  features 
which  are  used  by  Ezekiel  as  characteristic 
of  another  great  capital.  Tyre.  Babylon 
was  never  a  center  of  commerce ;  in  no  sense 
could  it  be  described  as  a  city  whose  mer- 
chants were  princes.  The  same  is  also  true 
of  Rome,  and  is  thus  adverse  to  the  opinion 
that  John  meant  to  describe  the  city  of  the 
Caesars  and  of  the  popes.  His  delineation 
of  Babylon  would  apply  to  Corinth  or  Car- 
thage in  ancient  times,  and  to   Venice  or 

181 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Amsterdam  or  London  in  more  modern 
days,  with  greater  aptness  than  to  the 
metropolis  on  the  Tiber.  In  this  altera- 
tion of  the  emblem  in  which  the  writer  of 
the  Revelation  indulges,  in  the  blending  and 
interweaving  of  details  descriptive  of  both 
the  Babylon  and  the  Tyre  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament into  the  composite  figure  of  the 
Apocalyptic  Babylon,  in  the  transition 
from  Isaiah's  sublimely  ironical  shout  of 
triumph  over  the  metropolis  by  the  Eu- 
phrates to  Ezekiel's  sad  and  pathetic  dirge 
over  the  fall  of  the  commercial  emporium 
of  Phoenicia,  a  clew  is  given  us  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  his  meaning. 

The  influence  of  Tyre  upon  the  Hebrew 
people  and  religion  was  alwa5^s  deleterious, 
almost  disavStrous.  The  intercourse  which 
began  in  the  magnificent  vSolomon's  love 
of  show  and  splendid  state  and  luxury,  and 
which  was  increased  by  the  intermarriage 
of  the  .Toyal  houses  of  Ahab  and  Jehoshaphat 
with  Tyrian  princesses,  was  fruitful  of 
moral  degeneration.  From  the  spiritual 
pesthouse  upon  the  Mediterranean  came, 
first,  Tyrian  art,  then,  Tyrian  wares,  then, 
Tyrian  idols,  and,  then,  the  unbridled  and 
lawless  sensualities  for  which  Tyre  was  noto- 

182 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

rious,  until  Baal  had  displaced  the  golden 
calves  set  up  by  Jeroboam  in  Bethel  and  had 
well-nigh  overthrown  the  altars  of  Jehovah 
in  the  city  of  the  great  King. 

The  Babylon  which  John  saw  and  whose 
rise  and  fall  he  predicts  was  one  that  em- 
braced in  itself  the  unbounded  pride,  the 
self-sufficingness,  the  love  of  sorceries  and 
dark  arts  of  magic,  along  with  the  demoral- 
izing practices  of  a  great  mart  of  commerce 
— a  mongrel  figure  into  which  all  forms  of 
evil  and  sin  were  woven. 

The  probability,  therefore,  is  that  John 
meant  to  describe,  not  any  individual  or 
definite  city  or  Church,  but  the  incarnation 
of  a  spurious  and  apostate  Christianity 
which,  assuming  the  appearance  of  the 
true,  is  animated  by  principles  wholly  des- 
titute of  and  antagonistic  to  the  power  and 
life  of  Christianity,  and  thus  deludes  only 
to  destroy. 

This  opinion  derives  confirmation  from 
the  connection  in  which  the  section  stands. 
Up  to  this  point  the  writer  of  the  Revela- 
tion has  been  collecting  his  data,  so  to 
speak,  summing  up  the  elementary  forces, 
friendly  and  hostile,  which  have  to  do  with 
the   success  or   failure  of  the  kingdom   of 

183 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Christ.  He  has  announced  its  fundamental 
principles,  the  means  by  which  it  is  to  be 
carried  forward,  the  enemies  which  must 
be  encountered.  It  now  remains  for  him 
to  show  in  a  concrete  form  the  results.  At 
the  close  of  the  Revelation  he  shows  us  the 
result  of  success  in  that  exquisite  picture  of 
the  ideal  true  Christianity.  But  before 
doing  this  he  also  shows  the  result  of  fail- 
ure in  the  picture  of  the  ideal  false  Chris- 
tianity. The  antitheses  between  the  two 
are  drawn  out  in  sharp  contrasts. 

In  chapter  xxi,  9,  it  is  said  to  him, 
' '  Come  hither,  I  will  show  thee  the  bride, 
the  Lamb's  wife."  Here  (xvii,  i)  it  is  said 
to  him,  ''Come  hither:  I  will  show  unto 
thee  the  judgment  of  the  great  whore  that 
sitteth  upon  many  waters." 

In  chapter  xxi,  6,  it  is  written,  ''  He  said 
unto  me,  It  is  done."  So  here  (chapter  xvi, 
17),  when  the  seventh  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  a  voice  was  heard  crying,  "  It  is  done." 

In  chapter  xii,  where  for  the  first  time  the 
field  of  battle  is  described  and  the  enumera- 
tion of  the  hostile  forces  is  begun,  religion 
is  presented  to  us  under  the  figure  of  a 
woman  who  has  fled  to  the  wilderness. 
Since  then  the  trial  is  supposed  to  have  been 

184 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

gone  through  with,  the  long  war  has  been 
fought,  the  varying  moments  of  the  strug- 
gle have  been  detailed,  and  we  are  now 
brought  to  the  summing  up  of  the  issue. 

In  chapter  xxi,  lo,  John  is  carried  away 
'' in  the  spirit  to  a  great  and  high  moun- 
tain," and  there  is  shown  him  the  woman 
in  the  form  of  ''  that  great  city, "  "  the  holy 
city,  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down  from 
God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband  "  (verse  2).  Here 
(xvii,  3,  4)  he  is  carried  away  ''in  the  spirit 
into  the  wilderness, "  and  he  sees  the  woman  ; 
but  now  she  is  sitting  ' '  upon  a  scarlet- 
colored  beast,  full  of  names  of  blas- 
phemy, .  .  .  arrayed  in  purple  and  scarlet 
color,  and  decked  with  gold."  She  has  failed 
in  the  conflict.  She  has  not  come  victorious 
out  of  the  wilderness,  as  Christ  did  after 
his  temptation.  She  has  made  peace  with 
her  enemies.  She  has  joined  with  the 
flesh,  the  world,  and  the  devil.  She  is  no 
longer  spotless  and  pure,  ready  for  her 
bridal  with  the  Lamb,  but  has  become  a 
harlot. 

Thus,  once,  Orpah  and  Ruth  stood  to- 
gether by  the  side  of  Naomi,  while  the 
Holy  Land   beckoned  them  all  toward  it. 

185 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Ruth  chose  that  better  part  and,  sheltered 
beneath  the  hovering  wings  of  the  God  of 
Israel,  found  peace  and  rest  and  an  eternal 
portion  with  the  saints ;  but  Orpah  loved 
the  blue  hills  of  Moab  and,  though  sadly 
and  reluctantly,  turned  back  to  idolatry  and 
oblivion  and  spiritual  death. 

Such  a  conflict  awaits  us  all ;  and  the 
issue  must  be,  either  that  happy  one  here- 
after to  be  more  accurately  described  under 
the  figure  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  or  else  that 
alliance  with  the  powers  of  darkness  which 
John  records  in  the  emblem  of  Babylon. 

The  details  of  the  description  given  of 
Babylon  add  further  confirmation  to  the 
explanation  offered  above.  In  chapters  xii 
and  xiii  the  three  great  enemies  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  were  enumerated — the 
dragon  and  his  emissaries,  the  two  beasts. 
In  the  present  chapter  (xvii)  they  are  repre- 
sented as  combined.  The  woman  is  seen 
sitting  upon  a  scarlet-colored  beast.  She 
is  arrayed  in  purple  and  scarlet,  but  not  in 
''  fine  linen,"  which  is  "  the  righteousness 
of  saints."  She  has  in  her  hand  a  cup,  but 
instead  of  the  sacramental  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  it  is  full  of  *'  abominations  and  filthi- 
ness  of  her  fornication."     She  is  not  "  filled 

186 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

with  the  Spirit,"  but  ''drunken  with  the 
blood  of  the  saints,"  for  ''she  hath  cast 
down  many  wounded,  yea,  many  strong 
men  have  been  slain  by  her  "  (Prov.  vii,  26). 
It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  the  de- 
scription of  the  first  wild  beast,  it  is  said 
that  when  the  deadly  wound  which  it  had 
received  was  healed  the  whole  world  won- 
dered after  it  in  astonishment  at  the  recu- 
perative power  which  it  exhibited.  But, 
at  this  vision  of  the  woman  allied  with  the 
beast,  with  a  commingling  of  the  influence 
of  the  second  wild  beast,  even  John  him- 
self wondered  with  great  wonder  at  a  cor- 
ruption of  religion  so  complete  and  yet  so 
enticing,  a  perversion  so  unexpected  and 
yet  so  alluring,  a  transformation  so  plausi- 
bly and  artfully  accomplished.  There  seems 
to  have  been  awakened  in  him  something 
of  the  perplexity  he  had  experienced  in 
looking  at  the  second  wild  beast,  as  if  its 
duplicity  were  a  mystery  of  iniquity  beyond 
his  power  to  fathom.  Once  one  of  the 
psalmists  wondered,  as  he  tells  us,  at  the 
prosperity  of  the  wicked,  until  he  entered 
the  sanctuary  and  there  saw  their  latter  end 
foreshadowed.  So,  likewise,  was  the  mind 
of  John  relieved  by  the  angel  who  came  to 

187 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

him  and  said,  "  I  will  tell  thee  the  mystery 
of  the  woman,  and  of  the  beast  that  car- 
rieth  her;  "  for  as  the  curtain  was  lifted 
the  doom  of  Babylon  was  revealed  to  him 
and  the  mystery  was  solved. 

But,  however  plain  the  m5^stery  was  to 
him,  it  is  assuredly  not  equally  so  to  us. 
The  explanation  which  suggests  itself  to  us 
the  most  readily  is  not  necessarily  the  most 
correct  one ;  indeed,  the  words,  ' '  Here  is 
the  mind  which  hath  wisdom,"  seem  to  in- 
dicate otherwise  and  to  force  us  to  seek 
some  meaning  deeper  than  that  which  is 
most  obvious.  Although,  therefore,  the 
expression,  ''The  seven  heads  are  seven 
mountains,  on  which  the  woman  sitteth," 
apparently  identifies  Babylon  with  Rome, 
either  imperial  or  papal,  it  would  satisfy  all 
the  conditions  of  the  problem  as  well,  and 
be  more  in  harmony  with  the  principles  on 
which  the  Revelation  is  constructed,  to  in- 
terpret the  expression  as  referring  to  the 
great  world  empires  which  have  successively 
dominated  the  human  race  and  cast  their 
shadows  across  the  path  of  centuries,  and  in 
which  John  saw  the  embodiment  of  the 
world-principle,  essentially  and  perpetually 
antagonistic    to    the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

188 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

Of  these  world  empires  five  had  already 
fallen — Assyria,  Babylon,  Persia,  Macedo- 
nia, and  the  empire  of  Alexander's  suc- 
cessors. The  empire  of  Rome,  which  was 
the  one  existent  in  John's  days  and  the 
most  compact  and  formidable  of  them  all, 
was  the  sixth.  "  The  other,"  he  says,  "  is 
not  yet  come ;  and  when  he  cometh,  he 
must. continue  a  short  space."  Of  this  dif- 
ficult passage  many  explanations  have  been 
offered,  but  it  cannot  be  said  that  they  are 
satisfactory.  Whether  John  anticipated  the 
fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  another  world  empire  to  suc- 
ceed it  for  a  brief  period  of  time  we  are  not 
able  to  say. 

It  would  not  be  any  impeachment  of  the 
inspiration  of  the  apostles  to  admit  that  upon 
matters  relating  to  the  time  of  our  Lord's 
coming  they  were  not  able  to  predict  with 
certainty.  Christ  himself  said  that  ' '  of 
that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  man,  no,  not 
the  angels  which  are  in  heaven,  neither  the 
Son,  but  the  Father;"  and  we  cannot  con- 
cede that  his  disciples  were  more  fully  en- 
lightened than  he.  There  are  indications 
that  the  apostles  anticipated  the  personal 
manifestation  of  the  Master  at  a  date  earlier 

189 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

than  has  proven  to  be  the  fact,  because, 
looking  through  the  ages,  mountains  ap- 
peared in  their  vision  to  blend  into  one 
which  we  have  found  by  experience  to  be 
separated  by  valleys  deep  and  wide. 

But,  inasmuch  as  it  was  revealed  to  John 
that  prior  to  the  realization  of  the  ideal 
kingdom  of  Christ  there  is  to  be  a  decisive 
conflict  with  the  combined  powers  of  evil, 
as  will  be  more  fully  discussed  when  we 
shall  have  reached  the  twentieth  chapter  of 
the  book,  may  it  not  be  that  it  is  that  final 
embodiment  of  the  world-principle  which 
he  here  foretells  as  the  seventh  antagonistic 
kingdom  ? 

''And  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not, 
even  he  is  the  eighth,  and  is  of  the  seven, 
and  goeth  into  perdition/'  These  words 
seem  to  imply  that  this  "  eighth  "  is  not  a 
separate  and  distinct  empire,  but  is  that 
common  principle  of  worldliness  which  finds 
its  embodiment  in  all  the  seven  and  yet  is 
distinct  and  separable  from  them.  It  is 
both  immanent  in  them  and  transcendental 
to  them. 

And  there  is,  perhaps,  here  an  intended 
and  striking  contrast  between  this  evil  prin- 
ciple and  the  divine  Being  with  whom  it 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

assumes  to  contest  supremacy.  It  was  said 
of  the  Lord  God  Almighty,  in  the  adora- 
tion of  the  living  creatures  (Rev.  iv,  8), 
that  he  *'  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come."  Of 
this  counterfeit  principle  of  evil  it  must  be 
said,  '*  It  was,  and  is  not."  God  is  true, 
real,  the  same  to-day  as  yesterday  and  for- 
ever. He  that  hath  received  Christ's  tes- 
timony can  set  his  seal  to  this  assured  and 
blessed  certainty.  Of  the  evil  principle  it 
can  only  be  said  that  it  is  always  vanity, 
falsehood,  a  lie.  Its  past  is  all  a  bitter  re- 
membrance ;  its  future  a  shadow,  a  decep- 
tion, a  dream;  and  he  that  trusts  it  is  a  fool 
mocked  with  illusions  that  are  never  real- 
ized and  cheated  with  hopes  that  forever 
disappoint. 

It  is  not  likely  that  any  world-kingdom 
comparable  in  extent  and  power  with  those 
which  in  ancient  times  subjugated  mankind 
will  ever  be  seen  again.  Christianity  de- 
velops and  cultivates  a  spirit  of  individual- 
ism which  is  inimical  to  their  recurrence. 
Since  the  disappearance  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire no  successor  to  it  has  arisen.  The 
empires  of  Charlemagne  and  Napoleon  were 
narrow  and  petty  in  comparison  with  that 
of  the  Caesars.     Some  such  thought  appears 

191 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

to  have  been  in  the  mind  of  John  when  he 
foretold  that  there  shall  be  ''  ten  kings, 
which  have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet; 
but  receive  power  as  kings  one  hour  with 
the  beast." 

But  the  spirit  of  evil  which  finds  tem- 
porary embodiment  in  these  worldly  sov- 
ereignties does  not  disappear  with  their 
overthrow.  It  incarnates  itself  in  other 
and  more  dangerous  forms.  There  are 
subtle  and  ctmning  manifestations  of  this 
spirit  which,  by  plausible  and  enticing  imi- 
tations of  the  religion  of  Christ,  do  far  more 
than  any  worldly  kingdom  can  to  overthrow 
true  Christianity  and  substitute  in  its  place 
the  counterfeit  kingdom,  the  deadly  rival 
which  is  designated  by  the  emblem  of 
Babylon. 

Without  violating  the  spirit  of  charity, 
and  in  fealty  to  the  obligation  of  truth,  it 
must  be  confessed  that  the  history  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  has  too  often  furnished 
just  occasion  for  its  identification  with  the 
Babylon  of  the  Apocalypse.  Its  worldli- 
ness,  its  unscrupulous  alliances  with  kings 
and  princes  to  carry  out  its  ambitious  proj- 
ects, its  disregard  of  moral  obligations  in 
the  pursuit  of  its  policy,  its  ignoring  of  the 

11)2 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

demands  of  justice,  honor,  truth  and  mercy, 
its  persistent  struggle  to  achieve  and  main- 
tain temporal  supremacy,  its  awful  claim  of 
present  and  eternal  mastery  over  the  bodies, 
minds,  and  souls  of  men,  its  luxury  and 
wantonness,  its  bloody  spirit  of  persecution 
on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the  other,  the 
duplicity,  the  false  asceticism,  the  assump- 
tion of  the  appearance  of  the  Lamb  while 
animated  by  the  spirit  of  the  dragon,  the 
substitution  of  its  own  codes  and  edicts  and 
ethics  for  the  word  of  God,  which  have 
specially  characterized  its  religious  orders 
and  confraternities,  are  sufficiently  like  the 
adversar}^  of  true  religion  delineated  by 
St.  John  to  excite  thought  and  induce  self- 
examination  . 

But  it  would  be  unjust  to  charge  to  the 
account  of  systems  imperfections  and  errors 
whicb  spring  out  of  the  inherent  frailty  of 
human  nature.  And  the  spirit  of  evil 
against  which  the  apostle  warns  us  has  bad 
unhappily  a  range  wider  than  pagan  or 
papal  Rome  or  any  organization  yet  wit- 
nessed on  earth.  If  that  Church  has  too 
often  carried  upon  her  forehead  the  title, 
**  Mother  of  harlots,"  instead  of  the  motto, 
''  Holiness  unto  the  Lord,"  she  has  many  a 

18  193 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

sister  who  must  sit  beside  her  as  of  kiudred 
spirit;  and,  if  the  one  has  been  ''  Aholah," 
the  other  has  been  ' '  Aholibah. "  If,  among 
her  followers,  she  has  numbered  both  some 
of  the  purest  saints  who  have  trodden  this 
earth  and  some  of  the  vilest  sinners,  and 
these,  too,  in  her  loftiest  places,  she  is  not 
alone  in  the  distinction. 

There  have  been  individuals  and  Churches 
calling  themselves  Christians  and  Protes- 
tants that,  like  veritable  Messalinas,  have 
burned  with  incessant  lust  after  every  form 
and  fashion  of  worldliness,  and  whose 
lovers,  as  Jeremiah  says,  have  not  had  need 
to  weary  themselves  in  seeking  for  them. 
There  is  too  much  truth  in  the  biting  sar- 
casm of  Heine  :  ' '  Christianity  was  once 
based  on  blood ;  it  now  rests  on  another 
basis — money.  Wafers  of  silver  and  gold 
are  the  only  ones  that  work  miracles  in 
modern  days."  When  the  solem.n  services 
of  the  holy  sacraments  lose  their  attraction 
and  are  accounted  dull  and  pale  when  com- 
pared with  the  brighter  light  of  social 
festivities  ;  when  prayer  meetings  are 
sparsely  attended,  while  glittering  parlors 
are  crowded  with  guests ;  when  the  shout- 
ing of  souls  newly  born  into  the  kingdom  is 

194 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

drowned  by  the  "  chant  to  the  sound  of  the 
viol;"  when  grief  over  '*  the  affliction  of  Jo- 
seph "  is  far  less  than  the  sorrow  for  the 
loss  of  worldly  prestige  or  patronage ;  when 
religion  is  used  simply  as  an  adjunct  to  the 
social  propensities  or  a  synonym  for  liber- 
ality in  promoting  financial  enterprises — 
then  there  is  need  that  we  read  again  the 
apocalyptic  vision  of  Babylon,  that  we  may 
avert  the  doom  that  is  certain  otherwise  to 
come.  Destruction  must  surely  be  the  end 
of  those  ' '  whose  god  is  their  belly,  and 
whose  glory  is  their  shame,  who  mind 
earthly  things."  The  vials  of  divine  anger 
must  sooner  or  later  empty  their  plagues 
upon  all  such. 

In  the  selection  and  introduction  of  Tyre 
as  the  representative  of  a  worldly  Church 
the  apostle  indicates  the  source  from  which 
danger  is  to  be  apprehended.  Tyre  was  a 
mart  of  commerce.  Upon  her  ships  the 
merchandise  of  the  world  was  transported, 
and  it  was  sold  in  her  markets.  Her  trade 
extended  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  by^ 
her  mercantile  transactions  she  was  brought 
into  contact  with  the  whole  circle  of  known 
nations.  The  close  acquaintance  and  fel- 
lowship thereby  wrought  with  all  religions, 

195 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

races,  and  customs  produced  its  customary 
result  of  lowering  the  standard  of  morals 
and,  under  the  specious  plea  of  encouraging 
liberalism  of  opinion,  led  to  apathy  toward 
all  religion ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  the 
increase  of  wealth,  art,  and  refinement 
created  a  love  for  luxury  and  worldly  good. 
Corrupted  herself,  she  became  in  turn  a 
source  of  corruption  to  others,  and  her  inter- 
course with  Israel  had  a  disastrous  effect 
upon  the  chosen  people. 

In  this  lies  the  peril  of  contact  with  the 
world.  It  is  the  scene  of  conflict ;  it  may 
be  the  field  either  of  defeat  or  victory.  The 
Lord  Jesus  prayed,  not  that  his  disciples 
should  be  taken  out  of  the  world,  but  that 
they  should  be  preserved  from  its  evil. 
We  are  placed  in  it  that  we  may  trans- 
form it.  It  is  possible  that  all  beauty,  art, 
wealth,  culture,  and  commerce  may  be 
sanctified  and  made  to  contribute  to  the 
redemption  of  the  world.  Every  thought 
may  be  brought  into  captivity  to  the  obedi- 
ence of  Christ. 

But  it  may,  on  the  contrary,  transform  and 
corrupt  us.  Without  the  aid  of  supernatural 
grace  the  influence  of  the  world  upon  the 
Christian  is  demoralizing  and  destructive. 

196 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

Whatever  is  without  God  is  equally  with- 
out hope.  Art,  for  instance,  separated  from 
its  mission  as  an  auxiliary  to  morals  and  re- 
ligion and  made  independent,  becomes  ar- 
tificial, and  then  degenerates  into  artifice. 
The  world,  instead  of  being  lifted  to  a 
higher  plane,  drags  the  Christian  to  its  own 
level.  It  is  remarkable  that  Paul,  whose 
facilities  of  observation  were  large  and 
powers  of  perception  keen,  when  writing  to 
the  Romans,  the  people  of  the  eternal  city, 
whose  one  dream  and  ambition  in  all  her 
history  had  been  power,  commended  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  as  ' '  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation;"  but,  when  writing  to  Corinth, 
the  busy  center  of  commerce  and  merchan- 
dise, full  of  wealth,  luxury,  and  corruption, 
he  presented  as  the  only  influence  which 
could  correct  these  evils  this  profound  truth : 
*'  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  not  your  own? 
For  ye  are  bought  with  a  price :  therefore 
glorify  God." 

There  has  not  been  a  period  since  the 
days  of  John  when  the  lesson  which  he 
wished  to  enforce  in  this  vision  of  apostate 
and  fallen  Babylon  was  more  important  than 
now.  Between  the  age  of  the  apostles  and 
the  times  in  which  we  live  a  stronger  re- 

197 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

semblance  exist.s  than  between  any  epochs 
in  the  annals  of  man.  The  rapid  increase 
of  means  of  transportation  by  which  the 
ends  of  the  earth  are  drawn  together  is 
effecting  that  state  of  things  which  the  con- 
solidation of  the  civilized  world  under  the 
control  of  the  Roman  Empire  produced. 
The  boundaries  between  nations  are  being 
effaced ;  and  their  easy  communication  with 
each  other  makes  possible  an  exceptional 
intermingling  of  languages,  usages,  moral 
codes,  and  religion.  There  is  the  same  tend- 
ency toward  the  denial  of  all  supernatural- 
ism,  on  one  side,  and,  at  the  opposite 
extreme,  toward  an  eclecticism  which  con- 
cedes some  truth  to  all  forms  of  religion, 
while  questioning  the  absolute  truth  of  any, 
as  that  with  which  the  apostolic  Church  was 
confronted.  There  is  an  excessive  liberal- 
ism which,  in  its  aversion  to  narrowness 
and  under  the  plea  of  enlightened  culture, 
would  abandon  all  that  specifically  differ- 
entiates Christianity.  But  we  will  have 
read  the  records  of  the  ante-Nicene  period 
in  vain  if  we  have  not  learned  from  them  that 
an  imperfect  Christianity, while  it  does  not 
gain  the  world,  does  lose  its  own  soul,  and 
that   the  regeneration  of    mankind  keeps 

198 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

exact  pace  with  the  measure  of  spiritualit}^ 
and  purity  which  prevails  in  the  Church  of 
Christ. 

Babylon,  the  counterfeit  of  the  kingdom, 
is  doomed  to  inevitable  destruction.  Over 
the  sad  end  of  a  Church  dominated  by  the 
spirit  of  the  world  and  which  has  finally 
apostatized  from  Christ  the  worldly  may  say, 
in  regretful  lament,  "  Alas,  alas,  that  great 
city;"  the  "merchants  of  the  earth"  may 
' '  weep  and  mourn  over  her ;  for  no  man  bu}- 
eth  their  merchandise  any  more;  "  but  the 
heavens  rejoice.  For  where  there  is  per- 
manent alienation  from  God  no  real  life  can 
survive  :  ' '  The  voice  of  the  bridegroom  and 
of  the  bride  shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in 
thee."  There  can  be  no  fruitful  activity  or 
profitable  labor,  for  ' '  the  sound  of  a  mill- 
stone shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee." 
There  can  be  no  inward  illumination  or  safe 
walking,  for  ' '  the  light  of  a  candle  shall 
shine  no  more  at  all  in  thee." 

3.  MetJiods  of  Success  Reiterated. — After  a 
few  words  of  exultant  triumph  over  the  fall 
of  Babylon,  and  the  bright  hopes  for  the 
future  of  Christ's  kingdom  opened  up 
thereby,  in  which  heaven  and  earth  unite, 
the  apostle,  before  finally  leaving  the  sub- 

199 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

ject,  points  us  again  (in  chapter  xix)  to  the 
weapons  by  which  victory  must  be  won. 
Repeating  what  has  been  so  often  said  by 
him  that  the  impression  is  made  on  us  that 
herein  lies  the  central  thought  of  the  book, 
but  with  a  fullness  of  detail  not  previously 
equaled  and  with  a  stress  of  emphasis  which 
guarantees  the  importance  of  the  truth,  he 
asserts  again  that  the  conquering  weapons 
are  ''the  blood  of  the  Lamb"  and  "the 
word  of  their  testimony  "  (Rev.  xii,  1 1 ;  xix, 
15).  The  cross  and  the  Bible — these  are 
the  means  by  w^hich  the  world  is  to  be  over- 
come, these  are  the  instruments  through 
which  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  work,  and  with  these  the  Christian 
and  the  Church  are  sufficiently  armed  for 
any  conflict  or  adversary. 

John  saw  ''  heaven  opened  (verse  1 1),  and 
behold  a  white  horse."  Thus  does  the 
Christ  appear  at  the  close  of  the  conflict, 
sitting  upon  the  white  horse  of  victory,  just 
as  he  appeared  at  the  beginning  when, 
armed  with  the  bow,  ''he  went  forth  con- 
quering, and  to  conquer  "  (chap,  vi,  2).  He 
is  described  by  the  titles  which  he  had  at- 
tributed to  himself  in  his  letters  to  the  seven 

churches  of  Asia.   He  is  here  the  "  Faithful 

200 


The  Counterfeit  of  the  Kingdom 

and  True;"  so  had  he  written  of  himself  to 
Laodicea.  *' In  righteousness  he  doth 
judge  and  make  war;  "to  Philadelphia  he 
had  called  himself  ' '  he  that  is  holy,  he  that 
is  true."  *^His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of 
fire;"  these  very  words  he  had  written  to 
Thyatira.  ' '  Out  of  his  mouth  proceedeth  a 
sharp  sword;"  to  Pergamos  he  had  spoken 
of  himself  as  the  one  having  ' '  the  sharp 
sword. "  To  Ephesus  he  had  described  him- 
self as  the  one  that  *  *  walketh  in  the  midst 
of  the  golden  candlesticks  [or  churches]  ; " 
and  here  he  is  seen  in  company  with  the 
armies  of  his  followers.  He  had  promised 
Sardis  that  the  faithful  should  walk  with 
him  **  in  white  ;"  here  the  saints  with  him 
are  ''  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean." 
To  Smyrna  he  had  said,  "  I  will  give  thee 
a  crown  of  life;"  and  here  upon  his  head 
are  '  *  many  crowns."  He  has  a  name  which 
all  can  read,  ''  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of 
lords,"  ruling  (shepherding)  the  nations 
with  the  iron  staff  of  his  power.  But  he 
has  also  a  name  that  no  man  knoweth ;  for 
he  had  himself  said,  ''  No  man  knoweth  the 
Son,  but  the  Father."  He  is  the  Word  of 
God,  the  embodiment  and  utterance  of  the 
Godhead's  deepest  thought  and  being,  the 

201 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

''  brightness"  of  the  Father's  glory,  *'  and 
the  express  image  of  his  person." 

The  weapons  which  he  employs  are  dis- 
tinctly said  to  be  the  "  sharp  sword"  that 
goeth  ''out  of  his  mouth,"  and  the  blood 
by  which  he  atoned  for  sin.  The  "  sharp 
sword  "  means,  unquestionably,  ''  the  sword 
of  the  Spirit,"  the  word  inspired  by  the 
Spirit  of  truth,  the  Scriptures  which  testify 
of  him  (John  v,  39),  the  word  by  which  we 
are  sanctified  (John  xvii,  17),  the  Bible  of 
revelation.  By  this  word,  ''the  breath  of 
his  lips,"  he  slays  the  wicked  (Isa.  xi,  4). 
With  this,  "the  spirit  of  his  mouth,"  he 
consumes  the  wicked  one  (2  Thess.  ii,  8). 

And  the  other  weapon  is  his  blood.  He 
is  ' '  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood." 
"  He  treadeth  the  wine  press  of  the  fierce- 
ness and  wrath  of  Almighty  God."  In  no 
way  could  the  cross  be  more  explicitly  indi- 
cated. Lifted  up  from  the  earth  upon  it, 
he  draws  all  men  unto  himself.  It  is 
"Christ  crucified"  who  is  the  "power" 
and  "wisdom  "  of  God.  No  weapons  more 
carnal  than  these  does  he  employ;  none 
other  do  we  need.  By  them  the  beast  and 
the  false  prophet  are  overcome,  and  both 

are  "  cast  alive  into  a  lake  of  fire." 
202 


PART  VI 

Ipro^resstve  Steps  by  Mbicb  tbe  IFDeal 
mtnG^om  of  Cbrtst  is  to  be  IRealtjeD 


Progressive  Steps 


PART  VI 

Progfrcssive  Steps  by  Which  the  Ideal  Km§:clom 
of  Christ  is  to  be  Realized 

The  twentieth  chapter  of  the  Revelation 
is  one  full  of  the  most  important  matter. 
It  describes  the  stages  through  which  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  must  pass  in  order  to  at- 
tain its  ideal  state.  The  key  to  its  solution 
is  to  be  found  in  a  careful  and  close  study  of 
the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel,  between  which  and 
it  so  exact  a  parallelism  exists  that  neither 
can  be  understood  without  a  comprehension 
of  the  other.  A  just  appreciation  of  this 
fact  would  have  precluded  many  of  the 
ingenious  but  untenable  hypotheses  which 
have  based  themselves  upon  this  section, 
and  will  now  serve  to  throw  light  upon  what 
seems  obscure  and  almost  undecipherable. 

The  Book  of  Ezekiel  consists  of  two  dis- 
tinct parts,  the  dividing  line  between  which 
is  the  siege  and  capture  of  Jerusalem.  The 
earlier  part  of  the  book  is  a  record  of  the 
many  and  gross  idolatries  and  sins  into 
which  Israel  had  been  tempted  and  fallen. 
The  sum  of  these  amounted  to  a  spiritual 
infidelity  and  adultery  which  justly  deserved 

205 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

the  anger  of  Jehovah.  And  it  was  the  sad 
and  painful  task  of  the  prophet  to  repeat  the 
solemn  warnings  with  which  lie  had  been 
intrusted  of  impending  and  terrible  doom. 

Succeeding  this  are  denunciations  by  the 
prophet  of  severe  and  crushing  judgments 
upon  the  surrounding  nations,  from  whose 
intercourse  Israel  has  received  deadly  harm, 
being  corrupted  by  contact  with  them,  both 
in  peace  and  war,  and  more  especially  in  a 
lowered  spiritual  life.  This  part  of  the 
Book  of  Ezekiel  comes  to  an  end  in  chapter 
xxxiii,  2  1,  where  the  mournful  announce- 
ment is  made  to  the  prophet  that  the  pre- 
dicted blow  bad  fallen :  ' '  One  that  had  es- 
caped out  of  Jerusalem  came  to  me,  saying. 
The  city  is  smitten."  It  was  a  conclusive 
proof  of  his  authority  to  be  considered  a 
true  prophet  of  God,  but  not  less  deplorable 
on  that  account. 

The  remaining  part  of  the  book  is  taken 
up  with  brighter  themes.  Out  of  the  nettle, 
danger,  God  has  plucked  the  flower,  safety. 
The  fall  of  Jerusalem,  which  seemed  to  in- 
volve its  disappearance  from  history,  is  the 
means  of  its  salvation.  The  pages  of  the 
prophet  are  bright  with  his  predictions  of 
an  Israel  raised  to  a  new  and  higher  ideal, 

206 


Progressive  Steps 

and  restored  thereby  to  the  favor  of  God. 
The  steps  by  which  this  happy  condition  is 
to  be  brought  about  are  successively  un- 
folded to  us  and  occupy  the  book  to  its  close. 
The  false  shepherds  (chapter  xxxiv),  the 
unworthy  and  unfaithful  rulers  who,  like 
the  thieves  and  hirelings  of  whom  Jesus 
spake  (John  x),  fed  themselves  and  cared 
naught  for  the  flock,  are  to  be  removed ; 
and  God  offers  himself  to  be  a  shepherd  to 
Israel,  searching  his  sheep,  seeking  them 
out  in  the  cloudy  and  dark  day,  binding  up 
that  which  was  broken,  and  bringing  again 
that  which  was  lost — a  beautiful  predictive 
type  of  the  Messiah,  the  good  Shepherd  who 
laid  down  his  life  for  the  sheep. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  false  prophets  and 
unsafe  guides  whom  Israel  had  followed  are 
to  be  taken  out  of  the  way,  and  God  prom- 
ises in  their  stead  to  put  his  Spirit  within 
Israel,  cleansing  them  from  all  their  filth - 
iness  and  their  idols  and  giving  them  a  new 
heart  and  a  new  spirit  (xxxvi,  25-27).  This 
promise  of  spiritual  regeneration  is  illus- 
trated by  the  vision  of  the  valley  of  dry 
bones  (xxxvii,  1-14).  At  the  word  of  the 
prophet  '*  the  bones"  which  lay  whitening 

in  the  valley  '  *  came  together,  bone  to  his 
207 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

bone,"  assuming  the  form  and  appearing  in 
the  likeness  of  men.  But  something  more 
than  human  preaching  was  required,  for  as 
yet  the  forms  were  without  life.  Then  the 
''breath"  of  the  Holy  Spirit  entered  into 
them,  like  the  wind  w^hose  sound  was  heard 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  ''and  they  lived, 
and  stood  up  upon  their  feet,  an  exceeding 
great  army  "  of  actual  and  real  men. 

The  first  and  closely  following  result  of 
the  spiritual  resurrection  thus  wrought  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  was  the  reunion  of  Judah 
and  Ephraim  (verses  15-28).  These  two 
branches  of  Israel,  unhappily  disunited, 
always  suspicious  of  each  other,  often  in 
actual  hostility,  had  by  their  division 
brought  reproach  upon  God's  cause  and  had 
subjected  themselves  to  the  disasters,  op- 
pressions, and  captivities  which  had  marked 
their  history.  Now  the  schism  was  to  be 
healed.  They  were  to  become  one,  so  that 
God  could  say  again,  "They  shall  be  my 
people,  and  I  will  be  their  God."  Then 
shall  follow  a  new  era  of  unexampled  peace, 
prosperity  ,  and  productiveness.  ' '  David 
my  servant  shall  be  king  over  them," 
"their  prince  forever."  "My  tabernacle 
also  shall  be  with  them  ;  yea,  I  will  be  their 

208 


Progressive  Steps 

God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people.  And 
the  heathen  shall  know  that  I  the  Lord  do 
sanctify  Israel."  The  fulfillment  of  part  of 
this  prophecy  is  distinctly  declared  by  the 
angel  of  God  who  announced  to  the  Virgin 
Mary  concerning  Christ  (Luke  i,  32),  '*  The 
Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of 
his  father  David :  and  he  shall  reign  over 
the  house  of  Jacob  forever ;  and  of  his  king- 
dom there  shall  be  no  end."  Now  it  is  a  re- 
markable fact,  of  which  use  will  hereafter  be 
made  to  clear  up  the  mystery  of  one  of  the 
obscurest  parts  of  the  Revelation  of  John, 
that  the  reign  of  David  and  his  descend- 
ants over  the  throne  of  Jerusalem  was  ex- 
actly one  thousand  years.  In  the  year  1063 
B.  C.  David  was  anointed  king  by  Samuel 
and  won  his  first  triumph  in  his  memorable 
overthrow  of  Goliath ;  and  in  63  B.  C.  Judea 
became  subject  to  Rome,  and  the  royal  su- 
premacy of  David's  line  came  to  an  end.* 
The  "  scepter  "  then  departed  from  Judah, 
and  the  **  lawgiver  from  between  his  feet." 
Immediately  following  this  remarkable 
prophecy  of  Ezekiel  is  that  concerning 
"Gog,  the  land  of  Magog"  (chapters 
xxxviii,  xxxix).     He  is   instructed  to  say 

*Dr.  William  Smith,  Nexu  Testament  History,  p.  731. 
14  209 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

to  Gog,  ' '  After  many  days  thou  shalt  be 
visited :  in  the  latter  years  thou  shalt  come 
into  the  land  that  is  brought  back  from  the 
sword"  (xxxviii,  8);  ''Thou  shalt  ascend 
and  come  like  a  storm  "  (xxxviii,  9) ;  "  Thou 
shalt  come  up  against  my  people  of  Israel" 
(xxxviii,  16);  nevertheless,  in  the  thirty- 
ninth  chapter  it  is  recorded,  ' '  I  am  against 
thee,  O  Gog"  (xxxix,  i);  "  Thou  shalt  fall 
upon  the  mountains  of  Israel,  thou,  and  all 
thy  bands,  and  the  people  that  is  with  thee  : 
I  will  give  thee  unto  the  ravenous  birds  of 
every  sort,  and  to  the  beasts  of  the  field  to 
be  devoured  "  (xxxix,  4);  "  Then  shall  they 
[that  is,  Israel]  know  that  I  am  the  Lord 
their  God"  (xxxix,  28);  "Neither  will  I 
hide  my  face  any  more  from  them :  for  I 
have  poured  out  my  Spirit  upon  the  house 
of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord  God  "  (xxxix,  29). 

Ezekiel  closes  his  prophecies  (chapters 
xl-xlviii)  with  his  pictures  of  restored 
Israel,  its  new  ideal  temple,  and  city,  and 
land. 

The  lines  of  thought  thus  laid  down  by 
the  prophet  of  the  Old  Testament  are  so 
closely  followed  by  the  author  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse that  there  seems  no  other  conclusion 

left  to  us  than  that  the  parallelism  of   sub- 

210 


Progressive  Steps 

ject  is  intended  to  be  as  exact  as  is  that  of 
language  and  imagery. 

In  the  Apocalypse,  too,  "the  faithful 
city  "  (Isa.  i,  21)  has  forfeited  her  faith  and 
' '  become  an  harlot. "  The  dire  catastrophe 
which  the  seer  of  the  old  dispensation  saw- 
falling  upon  corrupt  and  apostate  Jerusalem 
has  also  fallen  upon  Babylon,  the  unfaithful 
Church  of  the  new.  So,  also,  before  the  eyes 
of  the  apostle,  as  well  as  those  of  the  prophet, 
there  gleamed  a  vision  of  a  restored  Church, 
pure  and  clean,  descending  from  God  out  of 
heaven,  adorned  as  a  bride  for  her  husband. 
How  this  vision  is  to  be  made  real,  how 
that  splendid  city  is  to  be  brought  into  ex- 
istence of  whose  glories  the  eloquent  figures 
of  the  closing  chapters  inspire  such  lofty 
conceptions,  it  remains  for  him  to  tell  us, 
in  order  that  in  all  ages  to  come  Christian 
men  may  discern  the  paths  along  which  they 
must  labor  and  the  steps  through  which  they 
must  ascend  if  their  efforts  are  to  be 
crowned  with  favor  and  success. 

How  valuable  a  help  the  study  of  Ezekiel 
affords  us  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse may  be  seen  in  the  light  which  it 
throws  upon  the  subject  of  the  "thousand 

years."     The  foundation  of  those   theories 
211 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

of  a  millennium  whicli  have  taken  such  hold 
upon  the  minds  of  men  as  to  have  per- 
ceptibly modified  language  and  to  have 
made  the  word  one  of  the  commonplaces  of 
thought  lies  in  the  few  verses  which  make 
up  the  first  half  of  the  twentieth  chapter. 
There  must  be  something  peculiarly  at- 
tractive about  these  theories  and  very  much 
in  them  accordant  with  our  instinctive  hopes, 
since  the  paragraph  in  the  text  furnishes 
but  a  narrow  basis  upon  which  to  build  a 
superstructure  so  large.  It  is  not  easy, 
moreover,  to  understand  why,  in  a  book  so 
allegorical  as  is  the  Apocalypse,  this  para- 
graph should  enjoy  the  exceptional  dis- 
tinction of  demanding  a  literal  interpreta- 
tion, as  would  be  the  case  if  these  theories 
are  admitted.  Nevertheless,  it  is  true  that, 
from  very  early  ages  in  Christian  history 
until  now,  a  belief  in  and  expectation  of  a 
personal  and  visible  appearance  and  reign 
upon  earth  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  inau- 
gurating with  ills  saints  a  period,  stretching- 
through  a  thousand  years,  of  inconceivable 
peace  and  prosperity,  has  been  entertained 
by  many  of  his  purest  and  most  zealous  fol- 
lowers, and  has  even  been  made  the  dis- 
tinguishing tenet  of  large  bodies  of   men. 

212 


Progressive  Steps 

Whether  these  opinions  are  legitimately 
based  upon  the  text  and  how  far  a  correct 
exegesis  compels  us  to  accept  them  we  must 
now  inquire,  endeavoring  in  all  fairness  and 
candor  to  so  interpret  the  inspired  words  as 
to  make  the  various  details  of  the  para- 
graph consistent  with  each  other  and  with 
the  rest  of  the  sacred  Scriptures. 

Referring  once  more  to  the  prophecy  of 
Ezekiel,  we  find  the  order  of  events  there 
described  to  be,  first,  a  resurrection  of 
dry  bones  and  a  vivification  of  them  into 
men,  then  a  united  Church  and  people  of 
God,  an  undefined  period  of  happy  pros- 
perity, a  restoration  of  the  kingdom  of 
David,  a  combined  assault  upon  this  king- 
dom by  hostile  nations  under  the  name  of 
Gog  and  Magog,  and  the  complete  and  final 
victory  of  the  kingdom  over  them. 

In  the  Apocalypse  the  same  order  is  fol- 
lowed, with  variation  only  in  some  details 
of  the  picture.  The  only  feature  which 
can  be  called  new  is  that  of  the  binding  and 
loosing  of  Satan ;  and  even  this,  by  impli- 
cation, at  least,  is  in  Ezekiel.  It  is  cer- 
tainly a  reasonable  presumption  that  the 
same  truths,  whatever  they  are,  were  in 
the    mind   both    of    the   prophet    and   the 

213 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

apostle,  and  were  intended  to  be  taught  by 
both. 

Now,  if  anything-  in  the  interpretation  of 
the  Apocal5^pse  may  be  relied  on  as  valid 
and  beyond  question  it  is  that  the  reign  of 
Christ  is  not  a  future  event,  to  be  expected 
at  some  day  which  has  not  yet  dawned  upon 
earth,  but  is  a  present  and  existent  fact. 
That  kingdom  was  inaugurated  when  the 
Lord  Jesus,  having  risen  from  the  dead  and 
ascended  to  heaven,  led  captivity  captive 
and  bestowed  upon  his  followers  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  When  St.  Paul  in  writing 
to  the  Corinthians  says,  ''  He  must  reign, 
till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet," 
surely  the  meaning  is  that  he  does  now 
reign  and  shall  continue  so  to  do  until  the 
result  is  accomplished. 

The  mediatorial  sovereignty  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is,  indeed,  the  one  theme  of 
the  whole  book  of  Revelation.  The  con- 
summation and  undisputed  supremacy  of 
the  kingdom  has  not  been  reached.  It  is  in 
its  militant,  not  triumphant  state.  But  im- 
perfection within  and  hostility  without  no 
more  affect  the  reality  of  its  being,  although 
they  may  militate  against  its  well-being, 
than  did  treason  within  and   war   without 

214 


Progressive  Steps 

contravene  the  fact  of  the  sovereignty  of 
David  and  his  house  over  Jiidah.  Into  this 
kingdom  not  a  select  nnmber,  but  all  the 
true  followers  of  Jesus  are  introduced. 
They  are  "  a  royal  priesthood."  They  are 
"joint  heirs  with  Christ."  "We  see  not 
yet,"  indeed,  "  all  things  put  under  him  ; " 
but  we  see  Jesus  ' '  crowned  with  glory  and 
honor;"  and  "  he  that  sanctifieth  and  they 
who  are  sanctified  are  all  of  one :  for  which 
cause  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them 
brethren." 

Again,  it  may  be  accepted  as  almost  an 
axiom  of  interpretation  that  the  resurrec- 
tion referred  to  in  the  words,  ' '  They  lived 
and  reigned  with  Christ,"  means  a  spiritual 
change,  and  not  a  physical  or  bodily  one. 
It  is  synonymous  with  that  epoch  in  the 
Christian's  life  when  he  is  delivered  "  from 
the  power  of  darkness  "  and  translated  ' '  into 
the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son,"  that  crisis 
of  spiritual  existence  which  is  called  con- 
version or  regeneration,  when  one  is  "  born 
from  above"  and  raised  with  Christ  into 
newness  of  life.  The  resurrection  spoken 
of  is  stated  to  be  that  of  ' '  the  souls  of  them 
that  were  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus, 
and  for  the  word  of  God,  and  which  had  not 

215 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

worshiped  the  beast,  neither  his  image." 
It  is  also  called  ''the  first  resurrection," 
thus  differentiating  it  from  another  and 
subsequent  resurrection  of  ' '  the  rest  of  the 
dead."  This  first  resurrection,  moreover, 
exempts  those  who  partake  of  it  from  the 
power  of  "  the  second  death,"  which  is  de- 
fined as  the  being  ''cast  into  the  lake  of 
fire."  It  separates  them  from  "  the  rest  of 
the  dead  " — those  who  are  dead  "  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,"  as  they  themselves  once 
were — who  live  not  again  until  ' '  the  thou- 
sand j^ears"  are  finished. 

We  are  now  on  sure  ground.  The  mean- 
ing of  this  vision  is  that  the  mediatorial 
kingdom  of  our  Lord  is  to  be  established 
on  the  earth,  and  that  by  the  proper  use  of 
those  instrumentalities  which  have  been 
given  into  our  hands,  namely,  the  word  of 
God  and  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  it  shall  ad- 
vance in  spite  of  all  opposition  and  hin- 
drances, until  all  worldliness  and  false 
prophetism  shall  be  eliminated,  until  Christ 
'  *  shall  have  put  down  all  rule  and  all  au- 
thority and  power,"  until  ''the  kingdoms 
of  this  world"  shall  become  ''the  king- 
doms of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ,"  and 
"he  shall  have  delivered  up  the  kingdom 

210 


Progressive  Steps 

to  God,  even  the  Father,"  and  the  prayer 
shall  be  fulfilled  which  dail}^  ascends  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  '*  Thy  kingdom  come." 
The  millennium  is  now.  We  are  living 
in  it.  Its  light  shines  but  dimly,  it  is  true, 
but  it  will  shine  more  and  more  until  the 
perfect  day. 

The  period  during  which  the  saints  shall 
live  and  reign  with  Christ  is  stated  to  be 
"a  thousand  5^ears."  Conjecture  has  been 
rife  as  to  why  this  number  should  be  se- 
lected. Manifestly,  here,  at  least,  the  year- 
day  theory,  that  which  makes  every  day 
mentioned  in  the  book  the  symbol  of  a 
year,  breaks  down.  Otherwise,  the  period 
would  be  too  long;  and  none  have  been 
found  to  maintain  the  opinion  that  the  mil- 
lennium is  to  last  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  thousand  years.  Yet,  to  interpret  the 
expression  literally,  as  if  it  meant  exactly  a 
thousand  of  our  years,  would  be  to  depart 
entirely  from  the  rule  of  the  Apocalypse, 
in  which  numbers  are  taken  as  symbols  of 
epochs,  not  as  a  measurement  of  duration. 
There  is  no  reason  given  why  in  this  case 
exception  should  be  made  to  the  constant 
and  unvarying  use  of  days  and  months  and 
years  in  this  book. 

217 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Here,  again,  reference  to  the  book  of 
Ezekiel  will  dissolve  the  obscurit}^  and  pre- 
sent us  with  an  explanation  simple,  con- 
sistent, and  entirely  in  accordance  with  the 
usage  which  elsewhere  prevails  in  the 
Apocalypse. 

In  the  description  which  Ezekiel  gives  of 
the  happy  results  which  were  to  follow  the 
resurrection  of  the  dry  bones  and  the  re- 
union of  Israel,  one  of  the  particulars  which 
tenderly  touched  ever}^  Jewish  heart  was, 
' '  David  my  servant  shall  be  king  over 
them ;  and  they  shall  all  have  one  shep- 
herd." Whether  the  prophet  was  himself 
conscious  of  the  full  meaning  of  these  words 
or  not,  it  is  nevertheless  the  fact  that  it  was 
not  in  any  merely  earthly  descendant  of 
David  that  this  prediction  was  to  be  realized, 
but  in  the  Messiah,  "  great  David's  greater 
Son."  So,  doubtless,  the  apostle  of  the 
Apocalypse  accepted  it.  And,  inasmuch  as 
the  sovereignty  of  David's  house  was,  as  has 
previously  been  said,  just  one  thousand 
years,  what  more  natural  than  that  John 
should  see  in  this  number  the  signature 
and  symbol  of  the  reign  of  Christ?  He 
does  not  mean  that  the  duration  of  that 
reign  shall  be  limited  to  a  thousand  years, 

218 


Progressive  Steps 

but  that,  be  it  longer  or  shorter,  this  num- 
ber is  its  symbol  and  emblem.  Whatever 
he  mentions  as  taking-  place  during  the 
thousand  years  is  to  be  understood  by  us  as 
occurring  during  the  progress  of  the  media- 
torial kingdom  of  Christ  from  its  commence- 
ment to  its  culmination.  In  the  sight  of 
the  divine  Being  the  period  between  the 
establishment  of  the  kingdom  and  its  com- 
plete and  final  triumph  over  all  its  foes,  be 
it  longer  or  shorter,  is  the  day  of  Christ,  and 
''one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand 
years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day." 

The  moments  or  stages  in  the  growth  of 
the  kingdom  are  now  to  be  specified. 

I.  Restraints  upon  the  Power  of  Satan. — 
There  is  one  item  in  the  revelation  made  to 
John,  and  through  him  to  us,  which  is  pe- 
culiar to  him.  It  is,  indeed,  implied  in  the 
book  of  Ezekiel,  but  is  not  explicitly  com- 
municated. This  is  the  restraint  which  is 
put  upon  the  power  of  Satan.  An  angel  is 
seen  to  ''  come  down  from  heaven,  having 
the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit  [the  same 
mentioned  in  chapter  ix,  i-ii]  and  a  great 
chain  in  his  hand  [see  2  Pet.  ii,  4;  Jude  6]. 
And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon,  that  old 
serpent,  which  is  the  Devil,  and  vSatan,  and 

219 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

bound  him  a  thousand  years. "  *  *  When  the 
thousand  years  are  expired,  vSatan  shall  be 
loosed  out  of  his  prison,  and  shall  go  out  to 
deceive  the  nations;"  but  this  loosing  of 
him,  it  is  said,  will  be  for  only  "a  little 
season "  before  his  final  destruction.  As 
the  thousand  years  are  a  synon5^m  for  the 
reign  of  Christ,  the  meaning  is  that  during 
the  existent  mediatorial  sovereignty  of 
Christ  Satan  is  debarred  his  full  liberty. 
His  judgment  has  not,  indeed,  come,  and 
he  still  exists,  but  his  activity  is  circum- 
scribed, and  his  power  to  hurt  is  limited  and 
curbed. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  twelfth 
chapter  Satan  was  described  under  the  em- 
blem of  the  dragon  and  his  futile  hostility 
toward  the  woman  was  depicted.  At  the 
close  of  the  chapter  we  were  told  that  ' '  the 
dragon  was  wroth  with  the  woman,  and 
went  to  make  war  with  the  remnant  of  her 
seed."  Since  that  time  he  has  seemed  to 
disappear  from  mention  and  is  directly  al- 
luded to  only  occasionally.  His  place  in 
the  drama  of  warfare  has  been  taken  by  the 
two  wild  beasts,  his  emissaries,  in  whom  all 
enmity  against  Christ  and  his  followers  has 
been  concentrated.     Now  that  these   have 


Progressive  Steps 

been  judged  and  consigned  to  their  doom 
and  have  in  turn  passed  from  the  stage, 
the  apostle  reverts  to  the  evil  one  behind 
and  within  them,  whose  subordinate  agents 
they  were. 

One  of  the  noteworthy  facts  of  the  uni- 
verse brought  to  light  mainly  by  this  book 
of  Revelation,  but  fully  corroborated  by 
other  scriptures  when  attention  is  directed  to 
its  quest,  is  the  ambition  of  Satan  to  copy 
and  travesty  the  divine  Being,  both  in 
modes  of  manifestation  and  methods  of 
work.  His  abilities  seem  to  lie,  not  in  the 
direction  of  originality,  but  of  imitation. 
He  is  not  a  creator  or  inventor,  but  a  con- 
summate actor  and  a  master  of  the  art  of 
mimicry.  As  the  Deity  is  revealed  to  us  in 
the  triune  personality  of  Father,  Son,  and 
Spirit,  so  also  there  is  a  trinity  of  evil — the 
dragon,  the  beast,  and  the  false  prophet. 

And,  again,  during  the  continuance  of 
the  mediatorial  sovereignty  of  Christ  estab- 
lished for  the  elimination  of  sin  from  the 
universe  the  Father  does  not  directly  inter- 
pose, but  has  delivered  all  things  into  the 
hands  of  the  Son,  and  through  him  to  the 
Holy  Spirit,  whose  instruments  are  the  cross 
and  the  Bible,  and  whose  witnesses  andme- 

221 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

morials  are  the  two  sacraments.  In  like 
manner,  there  is  an  attempted  imitation  of 
this  on  the  part  of  Satan.  His  personal 
agency  in  human  affairs  is  confined  within 
narrow  limits,  not  of  his  own  will  surely, 
but  by  reason  of  bim  who  hath  subjected 
him.  Whatever  influence  his  malignity  and 
deep-seated  hatred  of  God  can  exert  in  order 
to  defeat  the  plans  and  purposes  of  redemp- 
tion is  wielded  mainly  through  his  subordi- 
nates, the  two  wild  beasts.  He  himself  is 
incarcerated  in  the  abyss  of  darkness  at  the 
will  of  his  Master  and  Lord.  He  seems  to 
have  been  allowed  personally  to  tempt 
Christ ;  but  his  arts  were  wasted,  he  lost  the 
field  of  battle,  and  must  pay  the  penalty  of 
defeat.  Referring  to  this,  the  Lord  Jesus 
said,  ''  I  beheld  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from 
heaven ;"  and  again,  '*  Now  is  the  prince  of 
of  this  world  cast  out;"  and  again,  *'The 
prince  of  this  world  is  judged." 

While,  therefore,  the  opposition  which 
the  Christian  encounters,  the  temptations 
which  beset  him,  the  evil  against  which  he 
must  struggle  proceed  incipiently  from  the 
great  adversary,  it  is  only  the  emissaries 
and  agents  of  the  ruler  of  this  world's 
darkness  whom  he   is  called  on  personally 

222 


Progressive  Steps 

to  encounter.  As  God,  in  order  to  save 
man,  must  become  incarnate  in  human 
flesh,  so  must  Satan,  in  order  to  tempt, 
embody  himself  in  some  earthly  form. 

The  comforting  assurance  which  Paul  ad- 
ministered to  the  brethren  of  Corinth  was, 
*  *  There  hath  no  temptation  taken  you  but 
such  as  is  common  [that  is,  moderated]  to 
man."  The  work  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
extends  some  of  its  blessings  to  all  the  race 
of  mankind,  to  the  disobedient  as  well  as  to 
the  faithful,  and  tempers  the  vicissitudes  of 
our  mortal  state  to  our  capacity  of  enduring 
them.  It  exempts  us,  though  it  did  not 
him,  from  exposure  to  Satan's  unshackled 
power.  Satan  himself  is  bound  and  shut 
up  in  the  pit.  God's  seal  is  on  him,  for  he, 
too,  is  the  property  of  the  divine  Being. 
And  he  deceives  ''the  nations  no  more" 
till  the  thousand  years  are  fulfilled.  Then 
he  is  to  be  '*  loosed  a  little  season,"  as  we 
shall  see,  prior  to  his  overwhelming  dis- 
comfiture and  irretrievable  defeat. 

2 .  OiLtpouriiig  of  the  Holy  Spirit  under  the 
Emblem  of  Resurrection. — What  has  already, 
in  the  interpretation  of  this  part  of  the 
Apocalypse,  been  said  upon  this  question  will 
obviate  the  necessity  for  any  long  discussion 

223 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

of  it.  Holding  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel  in 
mind,  we  cannot  but  conclude  that  what 
was  meant  to  be  taught  by  the  resurrection 
of  the  bones  in  the  valley  of  vision  is  like- 
wise indicated  by  the  expression,  ^'They 
lived  and  reigned  with  Christ."  ''  This  is 
the  first  resurrection."  As  the  resurrection 
spoken  of  in  Ezekiel  was  a  striking  emblem 
of  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  effect 
spiritual  regeneration,  so  are  the  words  to 
be  taken  here.  The  usage  of  describing  re- 
generation by  the  emblem  of  a  resurrection 
is  so  common  in  the  Scriptures  that  there  is 
no  need  to  adduce  illustrations  of  it.  Nor 
is  there  any  need  to  dwell  upon  the  analo- 
gies between  the  two  or  to  draw  out  the  im- 
portant lessons  suggested  thereby. 

One  truth,  however,  is  so  vital  that  it 
must  detain  us  a  moment,  namely,  the  ab- 
solute necessity  for  the  supernatural  agency 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  inception  of  spirit- 
ual life.  No  one  who  believes  in  an  actual 
resurrection — that  is,  in  one  that  is  more 
than  figurative  and  spiritual,  in  a  resurrec- 
tion which  extends  to  man's  complete  being, 
in  a  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  not  a 
mere  continuance  of  the  life  of  the  soul — 
conceives  that  any  natural  agents  in  exist- 

224 


Progressive  Steps 

ence,  or,  at  least,  within  our  knowledge, 
are  competent  to  produce  it.  The  bodies 
we  have  here  are  ''terrestrial,"  brought 
into  and  continued  in  existence  by  the 
operation  of  natural  laws.  The  body  of  the 
resurrection,  whatever  its  connection  and 
continuity  with  the  present  one,  is  confess- 
edly ''  a  spiritual  body."  No  forces  within 
the  realm  of  nature  are  able  to  create  life  or 
to  restore  it  to  that  which  has  lost  it.  The 
experience  and  observation  of  all  the  cen- 
turies fully  establish  this  truth.  Whether 
our  present  bodies  or  souls  come  into  exist- 
ence by  traduction  or  direct  creation  is 
another  question ;  but  all  Christians  are 
agreed  that  the  resurrection  of  the  body 
must  be  effected  by  the  direct  action  of  God. 
So,  likewise,  analogy  would  teach,  must 
it  be  with  regeneration  of  the  soul.  That 
change  by  which  vfe  are  raised  from  the 
death  of  sin  to  the  life  of  God,  that  trans- 
formation by  which  we  cease  to  be  merely 
citizens  of  earth  and  become  citizens  of 
heaven,  can  be  effected  only  by  the  direct 
and  supernatural  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
No  material,  earthly,  or  human  forces  are 
sufficiently  mighty  to  bring  it  to  pass. 
Here  God  must  specifically  act — not  as  in 

15  225 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

other  modes  of  his  work,  but  by  a  distinct 
exercise  of  power.  Nor  are  we  allowed  to 
conceive  of  entrance  into  the  spiritual  king- 
dom of  God  as  the  resultant  of  any  process 
of  evolution  or  growth ;  whatever  prepara- 
tion is  made  for  it,  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
soul  begins  in  a  special  operation  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  specific  and  distinct  as  that 
by  which  God  ' '  breathed  into  his  nostrils 
the  breath  of  life ;  and  man  became  a  living- 
soul."  The  closing  chapters  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures  are  in  unison  with  the  opening 
ones  of  Genesis,  and  from  the  prelude  to 
the  final  "  amen  "  there  is  one  harmonious 
melody. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  John  was  a 
witness  to  and  a  participant  in  the  extraor- 
dinary effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost.  He  speaks,  therefore,  of 
that  which  he  knew  and  testifies  to  that 
which  he  had  seen.  While  the  results  of 
the  transformation  wrought  in  him  are  ap- 
parent to  us,  the  fact  of  it  was  to  him  a  mat- 
ter of  consciousness.  It  is  because  he  had 
experienced  the  power  of  the  Holy  S]Dirit 
that  he  declares  the  necessity  for  its  exer- 
cise. And  the  stress  laid  upon  this  regen- 
erating agency  of  the  Spirit   in  order  that 

226 


Progressive  Steps 

we  may  be  made  to  live  and  reign  with 
Christ  is  no  slight  evidence  that  the  man 
who  wrote  the  Apocalypse  and  he  who  re- 
corded the  words  of  Christ,  ' '  Except  a  man 
be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom 
of  God,"  were  one  and  the  same  person. 

There  is  no  warrant  in  Scripture  for  the 
assumption  that  the  descent  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  upon  the  band  of  disciples  in  Jeru- 
salem was  intended  to  be  an  anomalous 
event  and  incapable  of  repetition.  In  the 
form  of  manifestation  possibly  it  was,  and 
in  the  accompanying  signs ;  but  not  in  its 
spirit  and  power.  Our  Lord  plainly  prom- 
ised to  his  disciples  the  abiding  presence  of 
the  Comforter  to  the  end  of  the  ages.  But 
that  promise  was  and  is  conditional.  The 
Holy  Ghost  was  not  given  until  Jesus  was 
glorified,  neither  can  he  be  now.  The  rec- 
ognition and  reception  of  Christ  as  our 
only  hope  and  Saviour  is  the  measure  ac- 
cording to  which  the  Spirit  now  imparts  his 
life.  Nor  can  any  definition  or  theory  of 
Christianity  be  accepted  as  correct  in  which 
the  atonement  of  Christ  does  not  hold  the 
place  of  central  principle.  And  in  pro- 
portion as  the  crucified  Christ  is  believed  on 
and   accepted   as   the   only   name    *' given 

227 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved," 
may  richer  and  more  abundant  outpourings 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  his  offices  of  regenera- 
tion and  sanctification  be  expected. 

3.  Union  of  Christian  Believers. — There  is 
one  particular  and  important  item  relating 
to  the  coming  of  Messiah's  kingdom  which 
is  described  with  greater  minuteness  and 
fullness  of  detail  by  Ezekiel  than  by  the 
writer  of  the  Apocalypse.  This  is  the  unity 
of  the  Church  of  God — a  point  upon  which 
the  older  prophet  lays  great  stress.  This 
unity  is  set  forth  both  as  a  direct  result  of 
spiritual  resurrection  and  as  an  essential  ele- 
ment of  preparation  for  the  final  conflict 
with  evil.  By  symbol  and  in  word  he 
strongly  emphasizes  the  declaration  that,  as 
the  sticks  which  he  took  became  one  stick 
in  his  hand,  so  should  Judah  and  Ephraim 
be  made  one  in  God's  hand.  ' '  I  will  make 
them  one  nation.  .  .  .  They  shall  be  no 
more  two  nations,  neither  shall  they  be 
divided  into  two  kingdoms  any  more  at 
all."  All  the  wounds  of  division  shall  be 
closed  and  the  scars  of  schism  healed. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  this  same  truth  is  so 
patent  in  the  Revelation,  but  it  is  there  by 
justifiable  inference.      The    fact   that   the 

228 


Progressive  Steps 

saints  live  and  reign  with  Clirist  implies 
that  the  kingdom  is  a  united  one.  The 
union  and  fellowship  of  the  saints  with  each 
other,  without  division  or  alienation,  is  as- 
sumed. The  obviousness  of  the  truth  was 
sufficient  reason  for  less  explicitness  of 
statement.  At  any  rate,  if  the  apostle  can 
be  accused  of  any  omission  here  he  made 
ample  amends  in  the  prominence  given  to 
the  subject  in  the  fourth  gospel,  in  which  he 
records  the  prayer  of  our  great  High  Priest, 
"That  they  all  may  be  one;  as  thou. 
Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they 
also  may  be  one  in  us :  that  the  world  may 
believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me." 

The  subject  which  thus  opens  out  to  us 
is  one  of  such  absorbing  interest  as  to  de- 
mand ample  consideration.  If  it  be  true, 
as  the  words  of  the  prophet  and,  indirectly, 
of  the  apostle  seem  to  indicate,  that  one  re- 
sult of  that  spiritual  quickening  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  called  conversion  or  regeneration  is 
to  bring  about  union  between  all  who  call 
themselves  disciples  of  Christ,  then  that  re- 
generation cannot  be  regarded  as  complete 
or  normal  which  does  not  produce  fellow- 
ship with  all  other  believers ;  neither  can 
any  Church  be  said  to  have  attained  a  state  in 

229 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

any  great  degree  approaching  its  ideal  which 
is  not  in  union  with  the  whole  Churcli  of 
Christ.  And,  in  addition,  any  instrumen- 
talities we  may  emplo}^  in  order  to  bring 
about  the  conversion  of  the  world  must  be 
ineffectual,  or,  at  least,  greatly  shorn  of  their 
influence,  until  there  exists  in  tlie  Christian 
world  a  unity  which  finds  its  example  and  the 
source  of  its  power  in  the  divine  nature. 

Upon  this  important  question  there  is 
entire  consentience  of  opinion  among  the 
inspired  evangelists  and  apostles  of  the  New 
Testament.  They  record  their  conviction 
that  Caiaphas  was  speaking  as  a  true  prophet 
of  God,  however  faulty  his  motives  in  so 
doing,  when  he  said  that  Jesus  should  die 
in  order  to  **  gather  together  in  one  the 
children  of  God  that  were  scattered  abroad." 
Appreciating  the  immense  loss  of  power 
which  had  resulted  from  the  schism  be- 
tween Judah  and  Ephraim,  a  loss  felt  even 
more  severely  in  the  moral  than  in  the  po- 
litical world,  they  strove  with  all  their 
might  to  prevent  a  like  division  between  the 
Jewish  and  Gentile  converts  to  Christ.  Nor 
did  they  cease  their  efforts,  although  laying 
themselves  open  to  the  imputation  of  incon- 
sistenc3^    tmtil    finally  the   matter  became 

2:;o 


Progressive  Steps 

one  of  life  or  death  to  Christianit3\  With 
a  tenacity  which  appears  to  us  akin  to  ob- 
stinacy, they  clung  to  the  hope  that  the 
Jewish  nation  would  accept  Christ  as  Mes- 
siah and  King,  that  the  old  Church  would, 
under  the  transforming  power  of  the  Hol}^ 
Spirit,  merge  into  the  new  as  the  dawn 
melts  into  the  day,  and  that  thus  the  con- 
tinuity of  history  would  be  preserved. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  the  rejec- 
tion of  Jesus  as  vSaviour  by  his  own  people 
was  a  serious  disaster.  It  created  a  division 
among  those  who  believed  in  a  living  God, 
a  personal  Providence,  and  broke  the  unity 
of  their  testimony  in  the  court  of  mankind. 
It  sent  Christianity  out  to  its  work  heavily 
handicapped;  and  acute  opponents,  like 
Celsus  and  Porphyr}^  were  not  slow  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  advantage  it  gave  them. 
Nor  has  the  loss  of  power  therefrom  accru- 
ing been  recovered  to  this  day.  The  event 
is  sufficient  justification  for  the  wise  con- 
servatism which  marked  the  actions  of  the 
apostles. 

As  little  room  can  there  be  now  for  ques- 
tion that  the  divided,  distracted,  segmen- 
tary condition  of  Christendom,  with  the 
animosities,    envies,    sectarianism,    undue 

231 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

exaltation  of  non-essentials,  concentration 
of  efforts  upon  things  of  minor  imj^ortance, 
and  cultivation  of  bigotry  caused  thereby, 
operates  as  a  most  active  factor  in  shearing 
the  religion  of  Christ  of  its  legitimate  in- 
fluence. Nor  could  increase  of  power 
within  and  superiority  to  the  world  without 
be  brought  about  so  quickly  by  any  means 
as  by  a  tmity  of  believers — such  unity  as  the 
New  Testament  inculcates.  This  state- 
ment in  no  degree  conflicts  with  the  uniform 
declaration  of  the  Scriptures  that  the  word 
of  God  and  the  blood  of  Christ  are  the  two 
all-important  and  all-sufficient  agencies  for 
the  furtherance  of  the  kingdom ;  it  only 
asserts  that  the  Bible  and  the  cross  will 
not  have  accomplished  their  purpose  until 
such  unity  shall  have  followed  their  accept- 
ance. 

Paul,  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  po  less 
emphatically  affirms  with  all  his  authority 
the  necessity  of  this  union.  A  careful  study 
of  his  epistles  will  show  that  he  divides  the 
religious  history  of  the  world  into  three  dis- 
tinct periods — Judaism,  Gentilism,  and  a 
final  period  in  which  these  shall  be  united. 

First  was  Judaism,  which  began  with 
Abraham,  the   pioneer  and    father  of   such 

232 


Progressive  Steps 

as  believe  in  a  living,  personal  God.  It 
ran  its  course,  fulfilled  its  mission,  and  had 
attained  what  Paul  calls  ' '  the  fullness  of 
times"  when  ''God  sent  forth  his  Son, 
made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  to 
redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law." 
The  office  of  Judaism  in  the  role  of  redemp- 
tion was  to  bear  witness  to  the  supernatural. 
The  Jew  believed  thoroughly  in  God  as  the 
Creator,  the  Providence  over  nature,  the 
Ruler  and  Judge  of  mankind ;  in  God  as  a 
person  distinct  from  nature  and  supreme 
over  it.  He  fully  recognized  the  obligation 
of  the  commandment,  "  The  Lord  our  God 
is  one  Lord ;  and  thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thine  heart,  and  with  all 
thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  might."  But  he 
exalted  the  supernatural  so  highly  as  to  put 
an  impassable  chasm  between  God  and  his 
creatures.  The  immanent  presence  of  God 
in  nature  was  lost  sight  of  in  the  concep- 
tion of  his  transcendency  over  it.  An  in- 
carnation of  the  Deity  and,  above  all,  any 
such  contact  of  God  with  humanity  as  to 
admit  of  the  possibility  of  his  suffering  was 
abhorrent  to  the  mind  of  the  Jew.  And  so 
when  Christ  came  to  his  own  as  the  Word 
'*  made  flesh  "  his  own  received   him   not. 

233 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

And,  with  his  foot  almost  upon  the  throne 
of  the  world,  the  Jew  stumbled  and  fell. 

Following-  this  period,  in  Paul's  concep- 
tion, was  that  of  Gentilism,  wliicli  has 
also  its  peculiar  mission,  rtms  its  destined 
course,  and  has  its  times  of  fullness  toward 
which  it  tends  (Rom.  xi,  2  5).  This  was  also 
the  conception  of  Christ  himself ;  for  he  had 
said,  ' '  Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  of 
the  Gentiles,  until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles 
be  fulfilled  "  (Luke  xxi,  24). 

The  mission  of  the  heathen  Gentilism  lay 
in  the  sphere  of  nature  and  humanity.  With 
all  the  beauty,  grace,  order,  motion,  and 
life  of  the  world  the  Gentile  was  in  sym- 
pathy. His  defect  was  that  he  rose  no 
higher.  The  gods  he  believed  in  were 
simply  human  and  natural  forces  personified 
and  exalted.  His  need  was  to  be  impressed 
vividly  with  the  conception  of  the  reality  of 
the  supernatural  and  to  recognize  the 
divine  Being  above  and  beyond  man  and 
the  world. 

To  meet  the  needs  of  all  classes  of  hu- 
manity God  has  employed  those  two  great 
instrumentalities  to  which  reference  is  so 
constantly  made  in  the  Revelation  of  St. 
John — on   the   one    hand,    the    Bible,    the 

234 


Progressive  Steps 

written  word,  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  with 
its  intense  realization  of  the  presence  and 
power  of  God  in  nature  and  history ;  on  the 
other,  the  cross,  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
with  its  rich  testimony  to  the  fact  that 
"  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lie veth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life." 

It  was  Paul's  confident  and  inspiring  be- 
lief that  when  the  fullness  of  the  Gentiles 
should  have  come  there  would  be  a  union  of 
all  believers  in  God ;  ' '  and  so  all  Israel 
shall  be  saved."  And  this  is  the  truth  to 
which  the  writer  of  the  Apocalypse  bears 
witness  in  his  vision  of  the  saints  who 
*' lived  and  reigned  with  Christ"  in  one 
united  and  concordant  kingdom. 

If,  then,  the  attainment  of  so  desirable 
and  blessed  a  result  as  that  of  the  consum- 
mation of  Christ's  kingdom  upon  earth  is 
contingent  upon  the  unity  of  believers  it 
surely  behooves  the  disciples  of  Christ  to 
labor  more  earnestly  than  ever  before  for 
this  unity.  The  magnitude  of  the  result  is 
worth  the  sacrifices  needed  to  gain  it. 

In  what  this  unity  shall  consist,  in  what 
sense  believers  are  to  be  one,  is  a  question 

235 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

upon  which  lawful  difference  of  opinion 
may  be  allowed,  and  it  is  to  be  settled  only 
by  a  vSympatlietic  and  careful  study  of  the 
Scriptures.  But  as  to  the  mode  of  its  at- 
tainment and  as  to  what  must  precede  its 
realization  the  Bible  is  sufficiently  precise 
and  explict.  It  will  not  be  secured  by  a 
conventional  agreement  to  accept  any  com- 
mon and  universal  symbol,  sacrament,  or 
organization;  unity  means  something  too 
vital  for  that.  It  will  not  be  founded  upon 
the  basis  of  any  past  fact,  upon  any  his- 
torical creed  or  institution  or  order  of  min- 
istry ;  unity  is  something  akin  to  life,  and 
life  is  progressive,  anticipative,  not  retro- 
spective. The  Jewish  people  were  of  one 
common  lineage,  having  the  same  fathers, 
the  same  oracles,  the  same  institutions,  but 
it  was  by  no  chain  descending  from  past 
times  that  they  were  held  in  unity ;  as  soon 
as  the  hope  of  a  future  Messiah  vanished 
their  past  associations  became  a  rope  of 
sand. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  himself  most 
plainly  and  authoritatively  announced  to 
us  the  processes  by  which  alone  this  unity 
can  be  attained.  In  the  ever  memorable 
words   of    his  prayer   as   our   great    High 

236 


Progressive  Steps 

Priest  he  said,  ''Sanctify  them  through 
thy  truth :  thy  word  is  truth,"  and  then  al- 
most immediately  added,  ' '  That  they  all 
may  be  one."  The  unity  which  he  an- 
ticipated and  now  desires  is  one  that  must 
be  preceded  by  sanctification.  This  is  fully 
in  accordance  with  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel, 
for  the  union  by  which  Judah  and  Ephraim 
were  made  one  was  preceded  by  the  resur- 
rection to  life  which  occurred  when  the  dry 
and  withered  bones  had  been  breathed  upon 
by  the  Spirit.  And,  in  the  paragraph  of 
the  Apocalypse  now  under  consideration,  it 
was  only  after  the  souls  of  the  witnesses 
and  followers  of  Jesus  had  been  raised  by 
the  first  resurrection  that  they  lived  and 
reigned  with  Christ.  Nor  can  any  unity 
be  real  which  is  not  preceded  by  a  spiritual 
resurrection  from  the  death  of  sin  into  new- 
ness of  life  through  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

What  is  here  said  of  unity  as  applied  to 
the  body  of  believers  is  equally  applicable 
to  each  individual.  The  kingdom  of  Christ 
does  not  reach  its  designed  consummation 
in  the  individual  until  the  heart  is  united 
to  fear  the  name  of  the  Lord.  The  exclu- 
sion or  omission  of  any  part  of  our  composite 

237 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

nature  from  the  sanctifying  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  so  far  mars  the  integrity  and 
concord  of  the  kingdom  and  is  below  its  ideal. 
Entire  sanctification  is,  as  has  been  said  by 
John  Fletcher,  a  constellation  made  up  by 
the  union  of  all  the  graces  in  a  glorious 
galaxy.  And  St.  Paul  teaches  us  that  it  is 
only  when  we  shall  ' '  come  in  the  unity  of 
the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son 
of  God,"  that  we  shall  have  attained  "  unto 
a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  the  fullness  of  Christ." 

4.  Final  Triumph  over  the  Carnal  Mifid,  or 
Barbarism.  Emblem  of  Gog  and  Magog. — 
With  this  glorious  picture  of  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit  and  the  complete  union  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  his  mind,  the  apostle 
passes  on  to  the  decisive  conflict  and  crown- 
ing victory  of  the  kingdom.  ''When  the 
thousand  years  are  expired,"  he  says, 
''Satan  shall  be  loosed  out  of  his  prison, 
and  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations." 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  word  which 
is  used  by  St.  John  for  "  expired  "  is  the 
same  used  in  the  fourth  gospel  in  several 
important  and  significant  places,  although 
differently  translated.  It  is  found  in  the 
prayer  of  Jesus  (John  xvii,  23)  in  connection 

238 


Progressive  Steps 

with  the  thought  of  unity,  as  in  the  section 
of  the  Revelation  just  considered,  and  is 
there  rendered  ''may  be  made  perfect." 
It  is  found  in  the  same  prayer  (John  xvii, 
4),  and  is  used  by  our  Lord  in  speaking  of 
his  active  work  upon  earth,  being  there 
translated  ''have  finished."  It  is  also  re- 
corded by  St.  John  as  being  one  of  our 
Lord's  exclamations  while  on  the  cross 
(John  xix,  30),  and  is  there  also  rendered 
"finished." 

From  these  uses  of  the  word  the  infer- 
ence is  very  reasonable  that  it  signifies,  not 
so  much  the  termination  of  a  period  of  du- 
ration, as  the  completion  of  a  process.  The 
thousand  years  may  be  said  to  have  expired, 
not  at  the  close  of  any  number  of  years  of 
time,  but  whenever  the  ends  for  which  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  is  established  are  at- 
tained. Until  those  purposes  are  accom- 
plished the  power  of  Satan  is  restrained  and 
he  is  not  allowed  to  exercise  the  full  measure 
of  his  strength.  He  who  makes  "  the 
wrath  of  man  "  to  praise  him,  while  "  the  re- 
mainder of  wrath  "  he  restrains,  guards  his 
Church  and  his  servants  as  "  a  garden  in- 
closed." 

History  and  experience  furnish  many  an 

239 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

example  of  the  providence  that  shelters  and 
shields  the  infancy  and  immaturity  of 
Churches  and  believers  until  adult  strength 
has  acquired  power  to  resist.  The  storm 
that  bends  the  reed  will  not  move  the  sturdy 
oak;  and  one  ''rooted  and  grounded  in 
love  "  can  withstand  blasts  that  would  be 
disastrous  to  the  growing  and  tender  shoot. 
All  progress  in  human  laws,  in  fact,  tends 
to  surround  the  evil-disposed  with  increas- 
ing restraints,  in  order  that  the  weak  and 
helpless  and  inexperienced  may  have  an 
equal  chance  to  develop  their  individuality. 

But  at  the  expiration  of  this  period,  we 
are  told,  Satan  is  allowed  to  go  forth  to  de- 
ceive the  nations.  The  writer  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse describes  the  final  assault  of  Satan 
upon  Christ's  kingdom  under  the  emblem, 
so  often  quoted  and  so  much  misunder- 
stood, of  Gog  and  Magog.  In  so  doing  he 
draws  again  upon  Ezekiel ;  and  if  we  wish 
to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  both  the  apostle 
and  the  prophet  we  must  revert  to  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  the  prophecy  was 
originally  given,  and  must,  in  this  instance, 
have  recourse  to  history. 

Not  long  prior  to  the  time  of  Ezekiel 
there  had  occurred  a  sudden  and  terrible 

240 


Progressive  Steps 

irruption  of  barbarians  into  the  civilized 
parts  of  the  world,  whicli  had  caused  wide- 
spread alarm  and  terror  and  shaken  to  its 
base  the  fabric  of  society  which  had  through 
preceding  centuries  been  laboriously  built 
up.  An  immense  horde  of  Scythians,  in 
the  rudest  stage  of  savagery,  without  pity 
or  regard  for  class,  sex,  age,  or  condition, 
with  intense  contempt  for  and  hatred  of 
those  arts  of  refinement  which  they  were 
incapable  of  appreciating,  broke  loose  from 
their  primitive  home  and,  sweeping  down 
through  Asia,  overwhelming  cities  and  em- 
pires, threatened  to  destroy  every  vestige 
of  literature,  order,  and  religion  and  to  turn 
the  world  back  to  chaos  and  anarchy. 
Happily  their  onward  course  was  arrested 
before  the  injury  they  caused  had  become 
irreparable.  From  this  circumstance  the 
name  Gog,  which  was  that  of  the  horde,  be- 
came the  symbol  of  barbarism,  and  was 
used  as  such  both  by  the  prophet  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  apostle  of  the  Revelation. 
The  truth  which  is  intended  to  be  pre- 
sented is  the  possibility  of  an  inroad  of  that 
barbarism  from  which  no  age  is  free  and 
from  which  the  most  imminent  peril  to 
Christianit)?-  is  to  be  dreaded.     There  is  in 

16  241 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

every  liiiman  being,  however  civilized,  a 
germ  of  barbarism,  a  strain  of  savagery, 
which  though  repressed  by  education,  by 
culture,  or  by  law,  is  not  destroyed  by 
them,  and  which  under  favoring  con- 
ditions may  become  the  ruling  principle  of 
life.  In  every  community  of  men  there  will 
be  found  some  who  represent  the  highest 
stage  which  the  community  has  reached; 
but  there  will  be  found  some  who  remain  in 
the  most  rudimentary  condition  of  barbar- 
ism. It  is  the  struggle  between  these  op- 
posing elements  which  makes  the  life  of  the 
community. 

Gog  and  Magog  do  not  represent  heathen- 
ism, which  is  simply  a  lower  form  of  re- 
ligion capable  of  being  improved  by  the  in- 
creased light  of  the  Gospel.  They  represent 
the  spirit  of  barbarism,  which  opposes  itself 
to  every  form  of  religion ,  lurking  as  the  dark 
shadow  which  waits  upon  all  civilization, 
ready  to  manifest  itself  whenever  the  power 
which  hinders  its  manifestation  relaxes  its 
vigilance.  And  unhappily  there  are,  even 
in  civilized  and  Christian  countries,  institu- 
tions allowed  to  remain  whose  only  result 
is  to  foster  the  tendency  toward  barbarism, 
whose  purpose  is  to  feed  the  lower  sensual 

-242 


Progressive  Steps 

appetites  and  passions  that  are  at  war  alike 
with  law,  education,  culture,  and  religion, 
and  between  which  and  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  must  be  perpetual  antagonism  until 
one  or  the  other  shall  be  exterminated.  The 
study  of  history  will  reveal  the  fact  that 
times  occur  in  the  life  of  nations  when  the 
tendency  to  revert  to  barbarism  asserts  itself 
m  unusual  strength,  when  the  normal  move- 
ment upward  and  onward  is  arrested,  and 
the  forces  which  drag  men  dov/nward  pre- 
dominate temporarily. 

It  is  such  times  and  conditions  of  which 
Satan  avails  himself  to  show  his  most  malig- 
nant power.  With  all  such  tendencies  he  is 
in  closest  alliance,  and  in  the  effort  to  in- 
tensify them  finds  his  most  congenial  em- 
ployment. It  is  a  mournful  fact  that  the 
impulse  toward  the  higher  and  better  is  not 
the  only  one  to  be  found  in  man  or  in  any 
creature  ;  we  must  take  into  the  account  the 
opposite  fact  of  the  tendency  to  revert  to 
lower  and  baser  levels.  Indeed,  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  notice  that  an  unusual  move- 
ment m  one  direction  seems  to  originate  an 
almost  equal  one  in  the  opposite.  Nor  can 
there  be  any  guarantee  that  the  higher  and 
purer  faculties  shall  assert  their  legitimate 

243 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

sway  except  in  tlie  promised  guidance  and 
help  of  God.  In  individual  experience, 
even  after  long  and  faithful  service  and 
growth,  there  will  come  at  times  sudden 
suggestions  and  temptations  which  reveal 
the  existence  of  de.sires  and  passions  we  had 
supposed  extinct,  but  which  have  been  kept 
down  only  by  God's  grace  and  our  unceas- 
ing watchfulness ;  such  also  is  the  case  with 
the  larger  aggregations  of  men  into  com- 
munities and  societies.  And  the  price  Vv^e 
must  pay  for  liberty  is  eternal  vigilance. 

The  barbarian  is,  indeed,  a  man  ;  the  es- 
sential elements  of  humanity  lie  in  him  as 
in  all  men.  But  there  are  properties  which 
belong  to  the  lowest  states  of  society  which 
constitute  a  differential  characteristic  and 
which  disappear  or,  at  least,  become  dor- 
mant when  growth  and  culture  take  place. 

The  barbarian  is  an  intense  realist.  He 
dwells  in  the  region  of  facts — such  facts  as 
are  discoverable  by  his  physical  nature 
only.  Of  sentiment,  of  ideals,  he  knows 
nothing  and  cares  less.  Such  things  as 
these  are  spiritually  discerned,  and  he  is  a 
natural  man  only.  Of  that  unseen  ether 
which  lies  around  the  bare  and  bald  facts 
of  life,  connecting  them  with  the  divine  and 

244 


Progressive  Steps 

eternal  source  of  things,  of  those  loftier 
visions  of  the  true,  the  beautiful,  the  good 
which  fill  the  mind  of  the  cultured  with  in- 
tensest  delight,  he  has  no  conception.  His 
delights  and  employments  are  sensual  and 
low,  and  the  end  of  all  of  his  energies  is  to 
gratify  them.  Arcadian  simplicity  fades 
away  with  increased  geographical  and  eth- 
nological knowledge. 

The  only  forces  which  the  barbarian  ap- 
preciates, therefore,  are  the  mechanical  and 
physical.  With  him  might  is  right.  Of 
the  power  of  spiritual  forces  he  has  the  most 
inadequate  notions  until  he  finds  how  weak 
his  cunning  and  artifice  are  in  the  presence 
of  civilization.  Of  that  sacrifice  and  renun- 
ciation of  self  for  the  sake  of  love  of  which 
the  cross  of  Christ  is  the  summit  and  crown- 
ing example  and  in  which  is  the  demonstra- 
tion of  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God  he  is 
incapable  of  appreciation  until  the  Holy 
Spirit  breaks  the  chain  with  which  Satan 
has  bound  him ;  and  then  he  ceases  to  be  a 
barbarian.  Clovis  spake  the  real  feeling  of 
the  savage,  even  when  baptized,  in  exclaim- 
ing, ' '  Had  I  been  there  with  my  Franks 
they  should  not  have  nailed  Jesus  to  the 
cross." 

245 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

By  profession  the  barbarian  is  a  soldier. 
He  knows  somewhat  of  the  power  of  weap- 
ons of  war  and  but  little  else.  The  me- 
chanical and  industrial  pursuits  by  which 
society  is  bound  together  are  objects  of 
scorn  to  him.  He  has  profound  contempt 
for  labor  as  beneath  liis  pride.  The  aris- 
tocracy he  admires  is  built  on  idleness  and 
bloodshed,  not  on  toil  or  skill  or  honest 
work. 

Barbarians  divide  themselves  on  national 
lines  alone.  The  broad  humanity  which 
overlaps  territorial  boundaries,  or  a  patriot- 
ism which  can  embrace  all  mankind  and  rec- 
ognize a  universal  brotherhood,  the  bar- 
barian is  not  able  to  comprehend,  or  else  he 
despises  the  notion  as  silly  and  puerile.  He 
has  no  consideration  of  any  ties  save  those 
of  kinship,  if,  indeed,  fully  of  these.  All 
within  this  limit  may  not  be  friends;  but 
certainly  all  without  are  enemies,  for  whose 
welfare  he  need  have  no  regard  and  whose 
rights  he  does  not  recognize. 

And  because  of  these  things  the  stage  of 
barbarism  is  politically  that  of  socialism,  of 
that  form  of  it  in  which  the  individual  has 
no  value  or  right  of  independent  thought  or 
action,  except  as  the  clan  or  tribe  or  com- 

246 


Progressive  Steps 

niunity  may  confer  them.  The  discernment 
of  the  real  worth  of  man  is  the  gift  of  the 
religion  of  Jestis.  In  its  teaching  that  the 
blood  of  Christ  has  been  shed  for  the  re- 
demption of  all  mankind,  that  the  manifes- 
tation of  the  Spirit  has  been  given  to  every- 
one, and  that,  therefore,  it  is  not  allowed  to 
call  any  man  common  or  unclean,  it  has 
laid  the  only  solid  foundation  upon  which 
true  liberty,  independence,  self-rCvSpect,  and 
the  highest  enjoyments  of  life  can  be 
based. 

How  rife  this  spirit  of  barbarism  is,  even 
in  societies  and  States  called  civilized  and 
Christian,  a  moderate  degree  of  observation 
will  prove.  It  is  to  be  understood,  of  course, 
that  to  say  a  tendency  exists  in  mankind  to 
revert  to  barbarism  is  far  from  saying  that 
vsuch  a  tendency  is  likely  to  predominate. 
In  pointing  out  the  dangers  which  beset 
civilization  the  Bible  does  by  no  means 
countenance  despondency  or  encourage 
doubt  as  to  the  future  of  history.  It  indi- 
cates perils  for  the  purpose  of  inciting  us  to 
the  use  of  the  means  which  it  suggests  for 
avoiding  them.  The  spirit  of  the  Bible  is 
one  of  most  cheerful  hope  as  to  the  outcome 
of  the  conflict  between  good  and  evil ;   and 

247 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

nowhere  is  the  tone  of  assurance  stronger 
than  in  the  Revelation. 

But  we  shall  be  very  unwise  if  we  shall 
neglect  to  guard  against  those  symptoms 
of  danofer  which  are  manifestinsf  them- 
selves.  The  persistent  attempts  to  reduce 
literature  and  poetry  and  art  to  a  barbaric 
realism,  dragging  into  light  lusts  and  pas- 
sions which  modesty,  culture,  and  religion 
hide  from  view;  the  disposition,  which 
seems  to  increase,  to  make  the  boundaries 
of  States  and  empires  coincide  with  kinship 
of  race,  and  thus  to  limit  men's  interests 
and  aspirations  to  their  own  nationalities ; 
the  multiplication  of  armies  and  the  con- 
version of  kingdoms  into  camps,  in  which 
every  citizen  must  be  a  soldier ;  the  fearful 
increase  of  destructive  dynamitism  and  an- 
archy; the  employment  of  the  most  ad- 
vanced science  and  education  in  the  inven- 
tion and  improvement  of  machines  of  war ; 
the  growth  of  that  form  of  socialism  w^iich 
denies  all  individualism  of  property,  family, 
and  labor — these  are  indications  of  that 
proneness  to  barbarism  from  which  man- 
kind is  not  yet  free,  and  from  which  it  will 
not  be  free  until  the  world  comes  into  the 
enjoyment  of  the  liberty  of  Christ. 

248 


Progressive  Steps 

The  keen  eye  of  tlie  apostle  discerned, 
even  in  the  apparently  secure  age  in  which 
he  lived,  the  signs  of  coming  perils  and 
dangers;  and  against  these,  men  and 
Churches  of  all  ages  have  had  to  struggle. 
The  battle  of  Christ  with  Magog  is  part  of 
that  conflict  with  the  carnal  man  that  rages 
in  the  heart  of  every  Christian,  as  well  as 
in  the  world  at  large.  Happily,  however, 
we  know  from  the  pen  of  inspiration  the 
full  measure  of  danger  to  be  apprehended, 
and  may  rest  in  the  assurance  that  Satan 
has  no  other  appliances  of  mischief  in  re- 
serve when  these  are  exhausted. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  apostle  says,  in  de- 
scribing the  assault  of  Gog  and  Magog  upon 
the  kingdom  of  Christ,  ' '  They  went  up  on 
the  breadth  of  the  earth,  and  compassed  the 
camp  of  the  saints  about,  and  the  be- 
loved city."  A  distinction  is  made  between 
the  **  city,"  which  symbolizes  the  Church, 
and  the  circumjacent  *'  camp,"  which  is  in- 
terposed as  a  bulwark  between  it  and  the 
enemy,  and  which  may  be  regarded  as  rep- 
resenting law,  education,  government,  and 
other  conservative  forces  of  the  world. 
There  lies  in  this  a  thought  characteristic 
of  the  profound  mind  of  the  beloved  apos- 

249 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

tie.  In  a  sense  most  true  and  deep,  Chris- 
tians are  '*  the  salt  of  the  earth."  The  in- 
terests of  humanity  are  bound  up  with  the 
welfare  of  the  kingdom.  In  fighting  the 
battles  of  God  the  Church  is  guarding  the 
welfare  of  mankind.  The  bark  of  Chris- 
tianity carries  man  and  all  his  fortunes. 
Barbarism  is  the  common  enemy  of  govern- 
ment and  of  religion,  and  in  striving  to 
injure  one  strikes  at  the  other.  Gog  and 
Magog  are  antagonistic  to  the  "  city"  and 
the  encircling  "  camp  "  alike.  In  resisting 
the  emissaries  and  allies  of  Satan  Christian- 
ity is  struggling  for  the  benefit  of  civiliza- 
tion and  safeguarding  all  earthly  good, 
even  as  its  Master  died  not  for  his  own  na- 
tion only,  but  for  all  men  dispersed  over 
the  globe.  For  its  own  sake,  if  not  out  of 
regard  for  religion,  society  should  jealously 
prohibit  an-y  infringement  of  divine  law. 
*'  Happy  is  that  people,  whose  God  is  the 
Lord." 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  matter  of  pro- 
foundest  importance  to  the  cause  of  religion 
that  it  shall  maintain  the  order  and  pros- 
perity of  the  community.  No  Christian  can 
be  indifferent  to  the  welfare  of  the  State  in 
which  he  lives.    As  he  dares  not  allow  him- 

250 


Progressive  Steps 

self  in  his  own  personal  experience  to  watch 
without  concern  any  indications  of  the 
growth  of  the  carnal  mind,  neither  can  he 
be  listless  or  apathetic  when  opinions  de- 
structive to  society  are  vSpreading  abroad. 
The  attacks  upon  governments  are  but  the 
prelude  to  assaults  upon  religion.  Again 
and  again  has  ' '  the  earth  helped  the 
woman,"  and  resistance  to  la.wlessness  and 
anarchy  been  preservative  of  the  existence 
of  the  Church.  However  far  any  estab- 
lished government  may  fall  below  the  ideal, 
it  is  yet  better  than  none.  ''The  powers 
that  be  are  ordained  of  God,"  although 
Nero  may  wield  the  scepter.  Forms  of 
government  are  subject  to  change  and  may 
be  altered  in  order  to  conform  to  higher 
ideals;  but  the  existence  of  government 
itself  is  essential  to  the  fulfillment  of  the 
purposes  of  God. 

But,  however  formidable  the  assault,  the 
apostle  does  not  allow  any  fears  of  defeat  to 
eclipse  his  hope  for  the  future.  Victory, 
however  long  deferred,  is  sure  to  come  at 
last  to  the  Christian  and  to  the  Church. 
"Be  of  good  cheer,"  the  Lord  said;  **I 
have  overcome  the  world."  The  weapons 
he  has  put  into  our  hands  are  amply  suffi- 

251 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

cient  for  our  needs,  nor  are  any  agencies 
necessary  beyond  those  with  which  he  has 
supplied  lis. 

*  *  Fire  came  down  from  God  out  of  heaven, 
and  devoured  them/'  The  ''fire"  here 
is  undoubtedly  the  fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
the  baptism  from  above  of  which  John  tbe 
Baptist  spake  when  lie  said,  *'  He  [the 
Christ]  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  with  fire."  There  came,  it  may 
be,  to  the  apostle,  when  he  wrote  these 
words,  memories  of  an  incident  of  his  life 
(Luke  ix,  51-56).  In  his  anger  at  the  in- 
hospitable Samaritans,  with  a  spirit  of  vin- 
dictiveness  at  the  insult  to  his  Master,  he 
had  said,  '*  Lord,  wilt  thou  that  we  com- 
mand fire  to  come  down  from  heaven,  and 
consume  them,  even  as  Elias  did?"  How 
quickly  followed  the  sharp  rebuke  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  "  Ye  know  not  what  manner  of 
spirit  ye  are  of."  The  weapons  Christ  uses 
are  not  carnal,  but  spiritual.  The  fire 
which  is  to  devour  Gog  and  Magog  is  the 
Holy  Spirit  who  descended  upon  the  Church 
at  Pentecost.  The  destruction  which  awaits 
them  is  that  of  their  sins  and  animosity,  not 
of  their  persons.  The  Spirit  of  truth  when 
he    comes  reproves  the  world    ''  of  judg- 

252 


Progressive  Steps 

ment,  because  the  prince  of  this  world  is 
judged." 

And  both  the  struggle  and  the  victory 
are  for  each  individual  believer,  as  well  as 
for  the  Church  at  large.  ''  We  know  that 
whosoever  is  born  of  God  sinneth  not ;  but 
he  that  is  begotten  of  God  keepeth  himself, 
and  that  wicked  one  toucheth  him  not." 
'*Ye  are  of  God,  little  children,  and  have 
overcome  them :  because  greater  is  he  that 
is  in  you,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world." 

Thus  the  consummation  to  which  the 
apostolic  seer  looked  forward  is  reached  at 
last.  The  Lamb  into  whose  hands  the  do- 
minion of  all  things  was  committed  has  pre- 
vailed. He  has  ''put  down  all  rule  and 
all  authority  and  power."  ''  He  [that  is, 
God]  hath  put  all  things  under  his  feet." 
Principalities  and  powers  are  '*  subject  unto 
him."  He  who  was  lifted  up  upon  the 
cross  is  now  on  the  ''great  white  throne." 
The  Father,  he  himself  had  said,  gave  him 
*' authority  to  execute  judgment  also,  be- 
cause he  is  the  Son  of  man."  The  time  of 
the  fulfillment  of  this  promise  has  come. 
Death,  "the  last  enemy,"  is  destroyed. 
The  gates  of  Hades  have  no  longer  power 
to  resist  the  forces  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

253 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

Nothing  that  is  hostile  to  him  can  look  upon 
his  face.  Daniel's  prophecy  has  been 
brought  to  pass.  ''The  iron,  the  clay,  the 
brass,  the  silver,  and  the  gold  "  are  "  broken 
to  pieces  together,"  and  become  ''like  the 
chaff  of  the  summer  threshing  floors:"  and 
the  wind  has  "  carried  them  away,"  that  no 
place  is  "  found  for  them."  The  kingdom 
which  the  God  of  heaven  has  set  up  has 
consumed  all  other  kingdoms  and  stands  for 
ever  (Dan.  ii,  35,  44;  vii,  13,  14). 

But  there  is  one  thought  developed  in  the 
closing  paragraph  of  chapter  xx  which  de- 
serves a  moment's  consideration.  It  is  that 
in  the  relation  which  men  and  things  sustain 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  lies  the  true  test  of 
character  and  the  standard  of  future,  as  well 
as  present  judgment.  ' '  Set  for  the  fall  and 
rising  again  of  many  in  Israel,"  through 
him  "the  thoughts  of  many  hearts"  are 
revealed  (Luke  ii,  34,  35).  He  is,  as  has 
been  aptly  said,  the  touchstone  of  human 
hearts.  And  it  will  be  by  the  ' '  inasmuch  as 
ye  did  "  or  "  did  it  not  "  unto  him  that  the 
final  sentence  on  men  will  be  determined. 

This  truth  is  set  forth  in  the  expression, 
"  the  book  of  life."  "  Whosoever  was  not 
found  written  in  the  book  of  life  was  cast 

254 


Progressive  Steps 

into  the  lake  of  fire."  In  the  prophecy  of 
Daniel,  to  which  there  is  evidently  refer- 
ence in  this  paragraph,  mention  is  made  of 
''  books"  that  *'  were  opened."  The  writer 
of  the  Apocalypse  also  alludes  to  the 
''  books  "  that  ''  were  opened."  But  he  adds 
to  this  that  ' '  another  book  was  opened, 
which  is  the  book  of  life;"  and  in  chapter 
xxi,  27,  he  calls  it  ''the  Lamb's  book  of 
life."  It  is  apparent  that  this  additional 
standard  of  judgment  belongs  to  the  New 
Testament  dispensation  and  is  something 
having  relation  to  the  specific  work  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Paul  has  this  in  mind 
in  saying  (i  Cor.  xvi,  22),  "If  any  man 
love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be 
x^nathema  Maran-atha."  The  Saviour  had 
given  a  foreshadowing  of  the  same  truth  in 
telling  his  disciples,  ' '  Whosoever  therefore 
shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I 
confess  also  before  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven."  We  hear  an  echo  of  this  in  the 
epistle  to  Sardis  (Rev.  iii,  5):  ''He  that 
overcometh,  the  same  shall  be  clothed  in 
white  raiment;  and  I  will  not  blot  out  his 
name  out  of  the  book  of  life,  but  I  will  con- 
fess his  name  before  my  Father,  and  before 
his  angels."     The  same  truth   is  indicated 

255 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

by  Jolin  in  liis  first  epistle  (i  John  v,  12): 
♦ '  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life ;  and  he 
that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not  life." 

The  character  of  men  is  not  to  be  esti- 
mated solely  by  their  actions,  and  to  make 
destiny  depend  upon  them  would  hardly  be 
just.  Every  act,  whether  of  word  or  deed, 
has  its  own  standard  of  judgment.  That 
which  determines  its  quality  as  good  or  bad 
is  its  fitness  or  unfitness  to  its  designed  end ; 
in  this  consists  its  conformity  with  its  ideal. 
A  moral  agent  has,  however,  another  stand- 
ard of  judgment.  Goodness  or  badness  in 
his  case  is  determined  by  the  conformity  of 
his  motives,  purposes,  and  intentions  with 
his  ideal,  which  is  the  fulfillment  of  the  will 
of  his  Creator.  Not  only  what  he  does,  but 
why  he  does  it,  enters  into  the  estimate  of 
his  moral  character.  A  perfect  man  would 
be  one  in  whom  faith  in  the  Son  of  God  and 
experimental  knowledge  of  him  are  in 
unison,  one  whose  conduct  springs  out  of  a 
living  faith,  and  in  whom  a  correct  faith  is 
translated  into  actual  and  complete  right- 
eousness of  conduct. 

It  is  a  fact  that  upon  the  fundamental 
principles  of  ethics  the  great  religions  of  the 
earth  do  not  differ  so  much  from  each  other 

256 


Progressive  Steps 

as  presumption  leads  us  to  anticipate.  This 
agreement  of  the  moral  codes  occasions  sur- 
prise and  even  perplexity  upon  the  first  ap- 
preciation of  the  fact.  But  the  explana- 
tion is  simple  and  easy.  These  codes  are 
largely  the  result  of  observation  upon  the 
established  and  permanent  laws  of  the 
universe,  deductions  from  facts  with  which 
testimony,  reason,  and  consciousness  make 
men  acquainted.  The  data  being  the  same, 
the  conclusions  reached  are  closely  similar. 
It  is  the  motive  power  which  they  bring 
to  bear  upon  men  in  order  to  induce  them 
to  actual  realization  of  and  conformity  to 
their  moral  convictions  that  determines  the 
superiority  or  inferiority  of  religions.  That 
which  constitutes  the  distinguishing  char- 
acteristic of  Christianity  and  gives  it  its 
immense  preeminence  over  all  other  forms 
of  religious  belief  is  that  it  reveals  to  us 
the  cross  of  Christ  as  the  greatest  motive 
power  that  can  operate  in  human  nature. 
To  depreciate  or  ignore  the  atonement  is 
to  leave  out  the  differentiating  element  of 
the  religion  of  Jesus.  "  He  that  believeth 
on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life :  and  he 
that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life  • 
but   the    wrath    of   God  abideth  on    him " 

17  2o7 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

(John  iii,  36).  **  We  must  all  be  made  man- 
ifest before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ ; 
that  each  one  may  receive  the  things  done 
in  the  body  "  (2  Cor.  v,  10,  Revised  Ver- 
sion). Wherever,  indeed,  the  full  revela- 
tion of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  not  been 
given  to  men  they  are  to  be  judged  by  *'  the 
law  written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience 
also  bearing  witness"  (Rom.  ii,  15).  But 
where  the  revelation  has  been  made  it  is  in 
likeness  to  him  that  the  test  of  character 
lies.  And  for  the  final  determination  of 
destiny  there  must  be,  not  only  the  books 
of  words  and  deeds,  but  also  the  ''  Lamb's 
book  of  life." 


PART  vn 

ZEbc  1F5eal  of  tbe  mfng&otn 


The  Ideal  of  the  Kingdom 


PART  VII 
The  Ideal  of  the  Kingfdom 

By  these  long  steps  has  the  holy  apostle 
brought  us,  through  this  wonderful  record 
of  perils,  conflicts,  defeats,  victories,  judg- 
ments, and  blessings,  to  the  conclusion 
toward  which  he  has  from  the  commence- 
ment been  tending ;  and  in  the  two  chap- 
ters which  close  the  book  he  depicts  the 
ideal  and  perfect  kingdom  of  Christ  as  it 
appeared  in  his  conception  of  it.  As  Eze- 
kiel  in  his  lonely  captivity  by  the  Chebar 
was  comforted  with  anticipations  of  a  new 
Canaan  and  a  new  temple,  wherein  Israel, 
purified  by  its  sufferings  and  cleansed  from 
idolatry,  should  enjoy  renewed  and  uninter- 
rupted communion  with  Jehovah,  so  was 
the  exiled  apostle  of  Patmos  gladdened  with 
a  prophetic  foresight  of  new  heavens  and 
a  new  earth  in  which  righteousness  shall 
dwell,  not  as  a  wayfarer  or  one  that  tarrieth 
for  a  night,  but  as  a  permanent  and  eter- 
nal inhabitant.  For  the  instruction  of  all 
the  generations  to  follow  John  presents 
his  inspired  conception  of  what  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  in  its  purest  and  final  form 

261 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

is,  whether  it  be  conceived  as  existing  in 
the  heart  of  an  individual  believer,  or  as 
synonymous  with  the  Church,  the  body  of 
believers. 

We  are  certainly  not  compelled,  and  it 
may  seriously  be  questioned  whether  we 
are  allowed,  to  interpret  the  concluding 
chapters  of  the  Apocalypse  as  a  vision  of 
the  future  heaven  which  awaits  the  just,  of 
the  glorified  and  celestial  state  of  believers 
who  have  passed  through  the  trials  of  earth 
and  have  entered  into  their  final  reward. 
The  probabilities  are  very  strong  that  it  is 
rather  the  vision  of  a  redeemed  and  purified 
earth,  the  victory  which  shall  result  here 
from  the  complete  ascendancy  of  Christ, 
which  is  presented  to  our  faith  and  hope. 
This  interpretation  of  the  vision  would  give 
consistency  and  unity  to  the  book.  It  would 
account  for  the  discrimination  which  is  cer- 
tainly made  between  the  ''city"  and  the 
nations  which  *'  walk  in  the  light  thereof," 
and  also  for  the  statement  that  the  leaves  of 
the  tree  of  life  are  ''  for  the  healing  of  the 
nations;  "  and  it  is  confirmed  by  the  fact 
that  in  his  first  epistle,  which  was  probably 
written  subsequently  to  the  Apocalypse, 
John  declared  that  it  had  not  been  revealed 

262 


The  Ideal  of  the  Kingdom 

or  made  manifest  to  him  at  that  time  what 
we  shall  be  when  Christ  shall  be  manifested 
to  us  in  his  heavenly  glory  (i  John  iii,  2) — 
a  statement  hardly  to  be  reconciled  with 
truth  if  the  vision  of  the  Apocalypse  is  to 
be  taken  as  a  revelation  of  the  heavenly 
state. 

The  careful  student  will  not  fail  to  ob- 
serve that  upon  all  questions  relating  to  the 
life  beyond  the  grave  the  Bible  preserves  a 
marked  reticence ;  nor  is  there  any  more 
impressive  evidence  of  its  divinity  than 
this.  To  gratify  a  curiosity  which  might 
easily  become  morbid  is  no  part  of  its  ob- 
ject and  might  defeat  its  more  practical 
purpose.  While,  therefore,  it  shows  us  the 
rent  veil  and  opens  the  curtain  sufhciently 
to  reveal  to  us  a  world  lying  beyond,  it  does 
not  allow  us  to  penetrate  further  or  uncover 
to  us  the  mysteries  hidden  therein.  It  is 
enough  for  us  to  know  that  a  way  leads 
from  the  holy  place  to  the  holy  of  holies, 
and  that  Christ  is  that  way,  the  life  of  the 
world  beyond  as  he  is  of  this,  and  the  truth 
and  reality  of  both  alike.  It  is  not  certain 
that  a  revelation  to  us  of  the  glories  of  the 
celestial  state  would  realize  to  us  the  satis- 
faction we  anticipated.    Even  were  a  reve- 

263 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

lation  made  to  us  in  terms  which  we  were 
able  to  grasp  and  comprehend,  that  which 
would  be  blissful  to  our  glorified  and  trans- 
formed faculties  might  not  seem  so  to  our 
earthly  ones,  and  the  revelation  might  be- 
come rather  a  stumbling-block  than  a  stim- 
ulus. We  know  that  the  prophecies  con- 
cerning the  Messiah  in  the  Old  Testament 
were  not  only  obscure,  but  even  seemed  to 
involve  contradictions,  which,  however,  his 
advent  in  the  flesh  explained  and  recon- 
ciled. This  may  be  the  case  also  in  regard 
to  the  future  state  of  the  blessed.  And  God 
is  no  less  merciful,  doubtless,  in  what  he 
withholds  than  in  what  he  imparts. 

It  is  the  ideal  kingdom  of  Christ  here  in 
its  perfect  and  completed  form,  and  not  the 
glorified  realm  above,  which  John  so  ex- 
quisitely describes.  The  imagery  he  uses 
to  adumbrate  it  may  be  glowing,  but  it  is 
not  beyond  what  may  be  gathered,  though 
in  less  poetic  dress,  from  other  parts  of  the 
Scriptures.  Even  should  it  be  conceded 
that  the  picture  is  simply  an  ideal  one,  a 
dream  of  beauty  not  meant  to  be  realized, 
in  fact,  something  the  attainment  of  which 
lies  beyond  the  possibilities  of  this  mortal 
life,  still  the  presentation  to  us  of  the  per- 

26-1: 


The  Ideal  of  the  Kingdom 

feet  state  can  not  be  without  its  uses  of 
help  and  comfort. 

But  it  was  not  the  cast  of  John's  mind  to 
be  pleased  with  imagined  fancies.  It  has 
been  well  said  (in  Guesses  at  Truth)  that  **  in 
character,  in  affection,  the  ideal  is  the  only 
real."  It  is  not  without  reason  that  John 
has  so  elaborately  described  the  agencies 
with  which  Christ  has  so  amply  endowed  his 
Church  and  his  disciples,  and  which  are  suf- 
ficient, if  rightly  used,  to  reduce  to  actual 
experience  all  that  is  portra3^ed  as  ideal. 

In  one  of  those  graphic  sketches  which 
connect  the  Apocalypse  so  closely  with  the 
gospels  John  convinces  us  that  it  is  fact, 
and  not  fancy,  which  has  been  engaging  his 
pen.  At  the  beginning  of  his  ministry 
upon  earth  Christ,  we  are  told,  was  taken 
to  ''an  exceeding  high  mountain,"  whence 
"  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  the 
glory  of  them,"  were  shown  him ;  and  Satan 
said  to  him,  ''All  these  things  will  I  give 
thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship 
me."  From  this  temptation  the  Master  re- 
coiled with  indignant  rebuke.  Instead 
thereof,  he  chose  deliberately  the  path  of 
suffering  and  privation,  the  path  that  led 
to  the  garden  and  the  cross,  to  Gethsemane 

265 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

and  Calvary.  With  full  appreciation  of  all 
it  involved,  he  took  the  cup  put  into  his 
hands  by  the  Father.  In  the  closing  scenes 
of  the  Apocalypse  the  battle  is  supposed  to 
have  been  fought,  the  conflict  has  ceased, 
and  now  John  himself  stands,  as  Christ  had 
stood,  upon  "  a  great  and  high  mountain;" 
and,  behold,  there  was  shown  him  ''that 
great  city,  the  holy  Jerusalem,  descending 
out  of  heaven  from  God."  The  cross  has 
conquered,  and  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth 
have  become  the  possession  of  our  Lord  and 
of  his  Christ.  And  he  who  himself  over- 
came the  world  has  given  assurance  to  all 
his  followers,  however  humble,  that  they, 
too,  may  be  victors. 

Theories  of  the  Church  and  kingdom  of 
Christ,  definitions  of  their  nature  and  mis- 
sion, abound.  Many  have  taken  on  them 
to  specify  the  notes  or  characteristic  marks 
by  which  the  true  Church  may  be  identi- 
fied. It  cannot,  therefore,  fail  of  interest 
or  profit  to  learn  what  the  holy  St.  John, 
the  inspired  apostle  who  leaned  on  the 
bosom  of  Jesus,  has  to  say  of  the  tests  by 
which  we  may  try  the  spirits  to  see  whether 
they  are  of  God.  Under  the  veil  of  figure 
and  metaphor,  we  have  the  profound  and 

266 


The  Ideal  of  the  Kingdom 

long-studied  conviction  of  one  who  was 
competent  to  decide,  and  to  whom  the  wisest 
of  mankind  may  look  up  with  reverence  for 
instruction.  Nor  need  anyone  have  diffi- 
culty in  determining-  for  himself  whether 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  finds  its  realization 
in  his  own  soul,  or  long  hesitate  in  identify- 
ing the  true  Church  of  Christ,  which  is 
simply  the  kingdom  of  Christ  ruling  in 
society. 

I.  The  Distinctive  Features  of  the  King- 
dom.— The  first  mark  of  the  kingdom  upon 
which  John  lays  stress  is  that  it  is  super- 
natural in  its  origin.  The  holy  city  that  he 
saw  descended  ''  out  of  heaven  from  God." 
It  came  ''down  from  God  out  of  heaven, 
prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  hus- 
band." It  is  not  the  resultant  of  any  proc- 
ess of  development  or  growth  from  a  prior 
state.  Whatever  preparation  may  precede 
and  make  ready  a  basis  for  its  reception, 
the  kingdom  itself  is  inaugurated  by  the  di- 
rect and  personal  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Whatever  instrumentalities  the  Holy  Ghost 
may  use  as  his  media,  his  is  the  undivided 
quickening  power.  In  this  declaration  the 
writer  of  the  Apocalypse  and  the  author  of 
the  fourth  gospel  are  in  agreement.     It  is 

267 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

he  who  records  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
''  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of 
the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God  "  (John  iii,  5). 

Another  feature  of  this  kingdom  is  that 
its  mission  lies  specifically  in  the  realm  of 
divine  things.  It  has  "  the  glory  of  God." 
The  name  of  the  city  is,  ''  The  Lord  is 
there"  (Ezek.  xlviii,  35).  Its  God  is  its 
glory.  It  is  God's  witness  in  nature  and 
to  men  of  a  power  above  and  beyond  nature 
and  man.  There  are  natural  means  and 
agencies  endowed  by  the  Creator  to  carry 
forward  earthly  work ;  but  be  has  planted 
the  kingdom  in  the  midst  of  mankind,  and 
its  one  great  business  is  to  testify  of  him. 
For  the  doing  of  this  work  the  Church  is 
accountable.  In  whatever  other  tasks  the 
Church  may  engage  or  whatever  methods 
it  may  employ  in  fulfilling  its  mission,  its 
one  supreme  office  and  distinct  charac- 
teristic is  to  bear  witness  to  a  divine  pres- 
ence and  a  divine  power  in  the  world.  **  In 
his  temple  doth  everyone  speak  of  his 
glory."  All  art,  ritual,  discipline,  phi- 
lanthropy, and  economies  that  do  not  direct- 
ly lead  to  God,  and  have  not  for  their 
purpose  to  emphasize  the  need,    the  pres- 

268 


The  Ideal  of  the  Kingdom 

ence,  and  the  inward  experience  of  the  su- 
pernatural, are  aside  from  the  purpose  of 
the  kingdom  and  below  its  ideal. 

A  third  mark  of  the  kingdom  is  that  it 
has  to  do  primarily  with  the  religious  facul- 
ties. As  the  distinction  between  nature 
and  the  supernatural  is  permanent  and  inef- 
faceable, so  the  Church  and  the  world  can 
never  be  made  to  coincide,  however  widely 
the  Church  may  be  extended  or  however 
thoroughly  the  world  may  be  permeated  by 
the  spirit  of  the  Church.  "  The  nations  of 
them  which  are  saved  shall  walk  in  the 
light"  of  the  new  Jerusalem,  ''the  kings 
of  the  earth  do  bring  their  glory  and  honor 
into  it;  "  but  the  distinction  between  it 
and  them  exists  and  abides.  It  will  be  as 
true  in  the  last  days  as  when  our  Lord  first 
spoke  the  words,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world."  However  omnipotent  and 
omnipresent  God  may  be  in  nature  and  the 
universe,  he  can  never  be  made  identical 
with  them  ;  and,  however  thoroughly  they 
may  be  penetrated  by  his  Spirit  and  come 
to  perfect  accord  with  him,  they  can  never 
be  so  lifted  up  as  to  rival  or  supersede  his 
supremacy.  And,  although  common  life 
and  work  may  be  sanctified  by  being  done 

269 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

in  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  religious  life 
may  flow  out  from  the  central  source 
through  all  the  ordinary  and  natural  chan- 
nels of  our  being,  the  religious  and  the  sec- 
ular can  never  be  made  one.  "  Out  of  Zion 
shall  go  forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  the 
Lord  from  Jerusalem;  "  but  the  discharge 
of  earthly  duties  and  the  reformation  of 
earthly  conditions  can  never  exhaust  the 
obligations  of  man.  There  will  still  remain 
those  relations  to  the  supernatural  of  whose 
existence  and  sovereignty  it  is  the  preemi- 
nent mission  of  the  Church  to  testify.  The 
kingdom  of  God  is  * '  righteousness,  and 
peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

2.  The  Central  Principle  of  the  Kingdom, 
— The  central  figure  in  this  kingdom  is 
Christ  crucified.  It  is  the  Lamb  around 
whom  all  the  imagery  of  the  apostle's  de- 
scription gathers.  The  light — luminary, 
rather — of  the  kingdom  was  ' '  like  unto  a 
stone  most  precious,  even  like  a  jasper 
stone,  clear  as  crystal."  That  this  refers  to 
Christ  seems  probable  from  Rev.  iv,  3, 
where  it  is  said  that  he  that  sat  upon  the 
throne  **  was  to  look  upon  like  a  jasper  and 
a  sardine  stone,"  and  is  further  confirmed 
by  Rev.  xxi,  23,  where  the  Lamb  is  said  to 

270 


The  Ideal  of  the  Kingdom 

be  "  the  light"  of  the  city.  Moreover,  it  is 
said,  ''The  first  foundation  was  jasper," 
which  is  but  confirmatory  of  what  Peter  had 
said  in  the  presence  of  John  to  the  '*  rulers, 
and  elders,  and  scribes:  "  ''This  is  the 
stone  which  was  set  at  nought  of  you  build- 
ers, which  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner. 
Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other." 
(Acts  iv,  II,  12.) 

Still  further,  "The  building  of  the  wall 
of  it  was  of  jasper."  Christ  crucified  is  the 
defense  and  the  bulwark  of  the  kingdom. 
The  atonement  of  Christ  is  the  most  pow- 
erful argument  the  Church  can  use  and 
constitutes  its  strongest  claim  upon  the  rea- 
son and  heart  of  men.  It  is  "  the  power 
of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God."  It  is 
Christ  crucified  that  makes  the  separation 
between  the  kingdom  and  the  circumjacent 
world.  It  is  not  in  its  ethics  that  the  dis- 
tinguishing peculiarity  of  Christianity  lies, 
but  in  the  preaching  of  the  cross.  In  the 
opinion  of  John  any  other  definition  of 
Christianity  throws  down  Christianity's  only 
wall  of  safety  and  separation. 

Yet  there  is  no  exclusiveness  about  the 

kingdom.     The  city  has  three  gates  on  each 

of  its  four  sides,  facing   the  four  quarters 
271 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

of  the  globe,  that  all  men  may  find  ready 
access.  "  Every  several  gate  is  of  one 
pearl " — that  pearl  of  great  price  which 
Christ  said  a  man  should  be  willing  to  sell 
all  that  he  has  to  buy,  becoming  eternally 
rich  by  the  exchange. 

Nor  is  there  any  narrowness.  Its  length 
and  breadth  and  height  exceed  even  those 
large  measurements  which  Ezekiel  thought 
to  be  ample  enough  for  the  ideal  temple  he 
saw.  *' Whatsoever  things  are  true,  what- 
soever things  are  honest,  whatsoever  things 
are  just,  whatsoever  things  are  pure,  what- 
soever things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things 
are  of  good  report ;  if  there  be  any  virtue, 
and  if  there  be  any  praise" — all  these 
things  belong  legitimately  to  the  kingdom. 
The  kings  of  the  earth  may  * '  bring  their 
glory  and  honor  into  it;"  only  that  which 
"  defileth  "  or  ''worketh  abomination"  or 
"  maketh  a  lie  "  is  excluded.  When  once 
a  man  in  the  center  of  his  being  is  rightly 
adjusted  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  the  center  of 
all  being,  he  may  unfold  all  his  powers 
and  give  exercise  to  every  faculty  of  his 
renewed  nature  safel}^  wisely,  completely, 
without  fear  of  infringement  upon  any  other 
being  or  of  going  astray  from  his  Creator. 

272 


The  Ideal  of  the  Kingdom 

3.  Negative  Characteristics. — Not  less  re- 
markable is  the  negative  side  of  the  king- 
dom, the  absence  from  it  of  many  things 
with  which  we  are  familiar.  When  an  ideal 
has  been  attained  much  that  was  necessary 
in  the  process  of  attainment  falls  away  as 
obsolete ;  the  scaffolding  which  is  used  in 
the  erection  of  a  building  is  removed  when 
the  building  is  completed. 

There  is  a  noticeable  avoidance  in  the 
closing  chapters  of  the  Apocalypse  of  any 
reference  to  the  sacraments,  to  ritual,  or  to 
such  like  means  of  grace.  John  saw  *'  no 
temple  therein ;  for  the  Lord  God  Almighty 
and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it." 
*'  When  that  which  is  perfect  is  come,  then 
that  which  is  in  part  shall  be  done  away." 
When  the  consummation  of  the  kingdom 
has  been  reached  the  relation  of  the  soul  to 
its  Creator  shall  not  be  through  interme- 
diate agencies,  but  direct  and  intuitive. 

There  is  no  mention  made  of  any  special 
priestly  class,  for  the  promise  shall  have  its 
complete  fulfillment  to  all,  ' '  Ye  are  a 
chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood;" 
and  all  life  shall  be  a  priestly  work  and 
service. 

Nor  is  there  any  allusion  to  the  prophetic 

18  2V3 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

office  as  a  separate  function.  ''They  need 
no  candle,  neither  light  of  the  sun  ;  for  the 
Lord  God  giveth  them  light."  ' '  The  anoint- 
ing which  ye  have  received  of  him  abideth 
in  you,  and  ye  need  not  that  any  man  teach 
you"  (i  John  ii,  27).  The  prediction  of 
Jeremiah  (Jer.  xxxi,  34)  has  reached  its 
time  of  fulfillment :  ''They  shall  teach  no 
more  every  man  his  neighbor,  and  every 
man  his  brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord: 
for  they  shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least 
of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith 
the  Lord.* 

Yet  upon  this  point,  more  almost  than 
upon  any  other,  it  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance that  we  shall  ' '  distinguish  the 
times."  We  must  not  assume,  because 
these  aids  and  appliances  are  not  needful 
in  the  perfected  state  of  the  kingdom,  that 
they  are  not  essential  in  the  formative  pe- 
riod, and  thus,  at  great  risk  and  with  immi- 
nent peril,  neglect  or  depreciate  those 
means  of  grace  which  the  Creator  has 
deemed  necessary  for  our  present  condition. 

4.  T/ie  Fruits  and  Results  of  the  Kingdom. 
— They  in  whom  the  kingdom  rules  shall 
have  access  to  the  tree  of  life,  that  heavenly 
wisdom  of  which  Solomon  says,  ' '  She  is  a 

274 


The  Ideal  of  the  Kingdom 

tree  of  life  to  them  that  lay  hold  upon  her : 
and  happy  is  everyone  that  retaineth  her  " 
(Prov.  iii,  i8).  ''  This  is  life  eternal,"  One 
greater  than  Solomon  says,  * '  that  they 
might  know  thee  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  sent  "  (John 
xvii,  3).  Their  lives  shall  abound  in  fruit- 
fulness.  Their  ministry  shall  be,  like  the 
Lord's,  "  for  the  healing  of  the  nations,"  a 
remedy  for  all  the  spiritual  and  earthly 
maladies  of  mankind. 

The  curse  of  sin  shall  be  destroyed,  **  and 
there  shall  be  no  more  curse."  ''Christ 
hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the 
law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us  "  (Gal.  iii, 
13).  ''The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin"  (i  John  i,  7). 
And  walking  ' '  in  the  light,  as  he  is  in  the 
light,"  and  being  "pure  in  heart,"  his  fol- 
lowers shall  "  see  God."  "  They  shall  see 
his  face;  and  his  name  shall  be  in  their 
foreheads." 

Thus  with  this  sublime  vision  closes  this 
marvelous  book.  There  is  no  truth  re- 
vealed elsewhere  in  the  sacred  Scriptures 
that  may  not  be  found  in  its  pages.  So 
complete  is  it,   indeed,  that  "if  any  man 

2V5 


Revelation  of  Saint  John 

shall  add  unto  these  things,  God  shall  add 
nnto  him  the  plagues  that  are  written  in 
this  book."  Nor  is  there  any  truth  revealed 
in  this  book  which  may  not  be  found  else- 
where in  the  Scriptures,  so  perfectly  does 
it  harmonize  with  all  divinely  inspired  truth. 
Therefore,  ''if  any  man  shall  take  away 
from  the  words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy, 
God  shall  take  away  his  part  out  of  the 
book  of  life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  and 
from  the  things  which  are  written  in  this 
book." 

The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John  fitly  closes 
the  sacred  canon ;  for,  drawing  so  much,  as 
it  does,  from  all  the  rest  of  God's  wonderful 
book,  it  holds  the  truths  derived  therefrom 
in  a  coherent  union  never  to  be  dissolved 
or  broken. 

276 


Ifnbey 


Albigenses,  137. 

Apocalypse.     See  Revelation. 

Apostolic  and  present  age,  resemblance  between,  iq8. 

Asceticism  and  worldliness  contrasted,  148-150. 

Asceticism,  prevalence  and  danger  of,  138,  139. 

Atonement,  all-sufficiency  of,  164,  165. 

Babylon,  destruction  of,  199. 

relation  of  Church  and  State  in,  179-181. 
Balaam,  147,  148. 
Barbarism,  characteristics  of,  244-247. 

possibility  of  reversion  to,  74,  75,  243. 
Beast,  scarlet  colored,  186-188. 
Bible,  reticence  of,  263, 

Christ  crucified,  the  central  figure  of  Revelation,  270,  171. 
Christian  liberty,  272. 

Christianity,  antithesis  between  true  and  false,  184,  185. 
Church  and  State,  interdependence  of,  no,  249,  250. 
Church,  conquering  weapons  of  the,  no,  155,  202. 

the  ideal,  266,  ff. 

notes  of  the  true,  266,  ff. 

separable  from  world,  269,  270. 

supernatural  origin  of  the,  267. 

a  witness  to  God,  26S. 
Church  unity,  228,  jf. 

an  apostolic  hope,  230,  231. 

how  attained,  236,  237. 

importance  of,  232. 
Daniel,  prophecy  of  four  beasts  in,  115. 
David,  duration  of  dynasty  of,  209. 
277 


Index 

Dragon,  the  ;  divine  protection  from,  loS. 

hostility  of,  to  the  clunch,  107. 
Dry  bones.     See  Ezekiel,  vision  of  dry  bones. 
Emblem,  of  seal,  39-41. 

of  trumpet,   56,  57. 
Epistles  to  seven  churches  of  Asia,  their  lesson  to  us,  34. 
Euphrates,  reference  to,  in  sixth  trumpet,  72,  73. 
Ezekiel,  prophecy  of,  163,  164,  205,^'. 

vision  of  dry  bones,  207,  208. 
False  prophet,  marks  of,  133. 

False  prophetism,  second  wild  beast  a  symbol  of,  126. 
Fifth  trumpet.     See  Trumpet  fifth. 
First  trumpet.     See  Trumpet  first. 
Forty-two,  symbolism  of,  19. 
Fourth  trumpet.     See  Trumpet  fourth. 
Gentilism,  mission  of,  234. 
Gnosticism  perilous  to  Christianity,  136. 
God,  knowledge  of ;  how  obtained,  59-61. 
Gog  and  Magog,  209,  240-243,  252,  253. 
Harvest  scene,  meaning  of,  157-159. 

Holy  Spirit,  his  work  preceded  by  that  of  Christ,  141,  14: 
Individuality  an  outgrowth  of  Christianity,  134,  135. 
Inspiration  and  human  genius,  84. 
Interpretation,  principles  of,  10. 

reference  to  Old  Testament  necessary  in,  13-16. 

structure  of  book  a  guide  to,  11-13. 
Jewish  ritual  a  key  to  emblems  and  symbols,  16. 
Joel,  prophecy  of,  1 5 5-1 57- 

Judaism,  its  office  in  the  plan  of  redemption,  233. 
Knowledge  of  God  through  his  works  and  word,  59-61. 
Lamb's  book  of  life,  254,  ff. 
Lukewarmness,  evils  of,  69,  70. 

Man  and  the  earth,  close  connection  between,  63,  64. 
Manichaeism,  137. 

Mediatorial  sovereignty,  45,  46,  214. 
Michael  the  archangel,  109. 
Millennium,  211,  212,  217,  218. 
278 


Index 

Mohammedanism  illustrative  of  fifth  trumpet,  70,  71. 

Nicolaitanes,  136. 

Nineveh,  special  characteristics  of,  178,  179. 

Numbers,  importance  of,  17. 

Old  Testament,  its  relation  to  the  New,  93-(;5. 

reference  to  it  necessary  in  interpretation,  13-16. 
Palestine,  geographical  seclusion  of,  108,  log. 
Paulicianism,  137. 

Peculiarities  distinguishing  the  Revelation,  9. 
Plagues,  the,  170. 

Prophetical  books,  importance  of  study  of,  14. 
Purpose  of  the  Revelation,  9. 
Resurrection,  spiritual,  224,  225. 
Revelation,  general  purpose  of  the,  9. 

limitations  of  the,  81,  82. 

theme  of  the,  23. 

unity  of  the,  22. 
Roman  Empire,  policy  of  administration,  117,  118. 
Rome,  Church  of,  192,  193. 
Sacraments,  absence  of  allusion  to,  273. 
Satan,  his  power  restrained,  2ig. 

loosing  of,  238. 
Sea,  emblem  of  secular  world,  113. 
Seal,  emblematic  meaning  of,  39-41. 

loosing  of,  44. 
Sealed  book,  meaning  of,  41,  42. 
Sealed  elect,  50-52. 
Second  trumpet.     See  Trumpet  second. 
Second  wild  beast,  number  of,  142-148. 
Seven  churches  of  Asia,  spiritual  condition  of,  30. 
Seven  seals,  opening  of,  46. 
Seven,  symbolism  of,  18. 
Seventh  trumpet.     See  Trumpet  seventh. 
Simon  Magus,  136. 
Six,  symbolism  of,  19. 
Sixth  trumpet.      See  Trumpet  sixth. 
Theme  of  the  Revelation,  23. 
2Y9 


Index 

Third  trumpet.     See  Trumpet  third. 
Three  and  a  half,  symbolism  of,  19-22. 
Tree  of  life,  274,  275. 
True  prophet,  marks  of,  129-131. 
Trumpet,  emblematic  meaning  of,  56,  57. 

fifth,  explanation  of,  67-71. 

first,  explanation  of,  65. 

fourth,  explanation  of,  66. 

second,  explanation  of,  65. 

seventh,  explanation  of,  97. 

sixth,  explanation  of,  72-76. 

third,  explanation  of,  66. 
Twelve,  symbolism  of,  18. 

Twelve  hundred  and  sixty,  symbolism  of,  19,  88,  109. 
Two  witnesses,  interpretation  of,  79. 
Tyre,  deleterious  influence  upon  religion,  182,  183. 

emblem  of  commerce,  181,  182,  195,  196. 
Unity  of  the  church.     See  Church  unity. 
Vials,  vision  of,  169. 
Victory,  anticipation  of,  150. 
Vintage  scene,  meaning  of,  159-165. 
Witnesses,  the  two  ;  fulfilled  in  Law  and  Prophets,  87-92. 
Woes,  the  three,  76. 
World  empires,  189. 

recurrence  of,  impossible,  191 . 
World  religions,  agreement  of  moral  codes,  256,  257. 
Worldliness  and  asceticism  contrasted,  148-150. 
Worldliness,  blasphemy  of,  123,  124. 

definition  of,  120. 

first  wild  beast,  a  symbol  of,  112. 

recuperative  power  of,  122. 
280 


Date  Due 


'M- 


Siil 


